Police halt inquiry of 41st St. fire

The arson investigation of a fire that gutted a house on South 41st Street in January has been declared inactive due to a lack of evidence.

Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker said no witnesses or leads have emerged in the case.

The Jan. 27 fire at 210 S. 41st St. was declared an arson by the Office of the Fire Marshal in mid-February.

Eight Penn students lived in the building; no one was injured in the fire.

Walker said the case will not be closed unless a conclusion is reached, but the investigation will only become active again if new information surfaces.

Students affected by the fire said they do not dwell on the incident, even though the case has not reached a satisfying end.

"It's frustrating that you can't come to a conclusion, but you just have to move on," College senior Raha Mozaffari said.

Mozaffari added that she knew police usually do not find much evidence in arson cases, so it was "not that surprising" that a culprit has not been determined.

College senior Jarron Smith, another former resident of the building, said some members of the house were initially concerned when the fire was declared an arson - meaning it was intentionally set - but they have since stopped worrying.

"It's been in the back of our minds," he said. "But I'm just glad that we're OK."

Smith added that moving to a new residence at the Hub, insurance that reimbursed him for lost items and activities like classes and baseball helped him regroup after the fire, even though the arson investigation was continuing.

"We bounced back really quick," he said.

This is the second area arson case that has been marked inactive in the past two years.

In March 2006, a fire gutted a house at 4042 Sansom St., sending six Penn students and one Bryn Mawr student to the hospital.

That fire was marked inactive after about a month of investigation because no evidence had turned up in the case.

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