Residents of 3932 Pine St. returned home from Spring Fling late Friday evening to find smoke and flames coming from their hot-water boiler.
Both Penn Police and the Philadelphia Fire Department responded to the incident at about midnight on April 8, but the fire had already been extinguished.
All of the seven Penn students in the building -- including one who was visiting at the time -- escaped unharmed and did not require hospitalization.
The smoke was confined to the house's basement.
Although firefighters responded to the scene, the Fire Department had no record of the incident. Officials said either the case has not yet been entered into the computer system or it did not merit an investigation.
House residents said they were told by fire officials that the cause was an electrical problem with the gas water heater.
College junior and house resident Tracy Webber said she ran down to the basement to find the boiler emitting smoke and fire from the base.
"I opened the basement step doors and the air was really hard to breathe," she said.
Wharton junior Jonathan Levy, who had come over to celebrate Webber's birthday, ran downstairs and managed to put out the fire by grabbing a nearby fire extinguisher.
Levy said his response was "nothing remarkable. I'd do it again."
But College junior and house resident Lisa Friedman said Levy "was spraying that thing like crazy."
Penn Police arrived within minutes after house resident and Daily Pennsylvanian columnist Stephen Morse placed a call for help. Fire officials came shortly thereafter.
Morse fled the house and called the police from his cell phone after notifying the others in the house of the fire -- and grabbing his laptop.
"We saw his true colors," Friedman joked.
One of the residents was showering on the third floor but was alerted by her housemates of the situation. All residents exited the building before officials arrived.
Levy said fire officials examined the heating unit before disconnecting it from the flow of gas coming into the boiler. House residents were then told to head back into the building, but to open all windows.
Webber said the freak incident did not ruin her 21st birthday.
"We're just lucky that we were home," Friedman said. The group was about to head out to Smokey Joe's when the fire alarm sounded.
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