everything in it and then knowing that my kids got to be out here and be cold. >> reporter: firefighters battled flames for two hours before they brought it under control at 7:30 tonight. as late as 10:00 p.m., crews were dousing flames inside the apartment when the roof collapsed. the fire spread quickly. many who live here are not sure what they'll find when they're allowed to return. the red cross is trying to get a handle on how many families have been displaced. the count is at five at this hour, but that number is expected to grow. there are no reports tonight of any injuries. the red cross is considering opening a comfort center for those people affected. they're now waiting for a septa bus to arrive so they have an area that everybody can get together, at 53rd and montgomery. denise nakano, nbc 10 news. protesters marched through the streets of philadelphia demanding just after grand jury decisions over police actions in ferguson, missouri, and new york city. the demonstrators took their cause to one of philadelphia's biggest celebrations, the lighting of the holiday tree. tonight's protests come on the same day a grand jury cleared a white new york city police officer in the death of an unarmed black man. it's adding to the simmering anger over the ferguson grand jury decision. the protest started inside 30th street station just before rush hour. demonstrators dropped to the ground and didn't move for 4 1/2 minutes. that represented the 4 1/2 hours michael brown's body was on the ground after he was shot and killed in ferguson. nbc 10's george spencer is live in center city tonight where tonight's holiday tree lighting was disrupted for a lot of families. george, how did police handle tonight's demonstration? >> reporter: jim, the commissioner told me tonight he considers it a success. his officers managed a large crowd marching during rush hour, and then they showed up here at city hall in significant numbers for that tree lighting. but even still, at one of the city's biggest annual holiday events, the holiday itself seemed overshadowed by the protests. the sirens from protesters' mega phones wailed tonight even as holiday performers tried to sing on. with the crowds' hands up even protecting the city's christmas tree became tense on the night of a second major grand jury decision in as many weeks. >> i'm scared for my life as a black man. i am really scared for my life right now. >> i'm frustrated, and i want it to stop. i want something to change. >> reporter: the protests started in the late afternoon. marching the streets of center city during rush hour, attempting to enter highways. and causing traffic backups during rush hour. >> it's not just about justice for eric garner and mike brown and trayvon martin but justice for our sons and daughters who walk these streets. >> reporter: as the noisy crowd of several hundred arrived at city hall, police allowed their protests to continue, catching unsuspecting holiday goers off guard. some families even left altogether. >> this is supposed to be a joyous time. this is a christmas holiday. and let these children come and enjoy. >> our job is to see to it that they can protest and at the same time families that want to many ko down and see a christmas tree it will can do that as well. >> reporter: for the protesters at this tree lighting to remember, their message felt more important than the holiday. in total, the protests lasted some four hours, continuing until right after the end of the city's official christmas tree lighting. police tell us despite some highly tense moments, there was only one person taken into custody tonight, someone who tried to climb over one of the barricades surrounding the city's christmas tree. we're live tonight at city hall. i'm george spencer, nbc 10 news. i can't breathe. i can't breathe. >> don't choke. >> protesters took to the streets of new york city tonight as well as we mentioned. they're reacting to a grand jury decision today not to indict a white police officer in the death of an unarmed black man in the city last summer. the jury cleared officer dan pantaleo. garner was allegedly selling untaxed loose cigarettes. >> i can't breathe, i can't breathe. >> that's garner yelling "i can't breathe." the same video showed garner refusing to be handcuffed. officer pantaleo responded by putting garner in an apparent choke hold which is banned under nypd policy. he died later. the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. tonight the just department said it will proceed with a civil rights investigation. >> all lives must be valued. all lives. mr. garner's death is one of several recent incidents across our great country that have tested the sense of trust that must exist between law enforcement and the communities they are charged to serve and to protect. >> president obama also weighed in on today's grand jury decision. he says it underscores the need to strengthen the trust and accountability between communities and law enforcement. tonight, hundreds of glowing candles on the campus of westchester university. they're all to honor shane montgomery, who disappeared a week ago after a night out with friends in manayunk. ♪ i'll help you to carry on >> family and friends joined together in song and prayer at the student union building on campus. they lit candles to show their support for the ongoing search for montgomery. the reward is now up to $31,000 for information that helps find him. montgomery vanished after leaving kildare's irish pub in manayunk. tonight his mother remains hopeful someone will find her son. >> i have a wonderful, wonderful support system, a wonderful, wonderful family, a very strong and resilient mother who raised us to be faithful, hopeful, prayerful, and that's what i'm trying to be. >> earlier today montgomery's friends and family fanned out across the area with new pictures of shane. police are going over hundreds of hours of surveillance video from manayunk businesses hoping to spot montgomery on that video. and we have new video tonight of a suspect wanted in an attack on a 15-year-old boy in hunting park. police hope you'll recognize the man you see here. investigators tell us he and a group of other teenagers jumped the victim last friday on west luzerne street after kicking and punching the boy repeatedly, everyone in the group ran off. and police are now offering a $1,000 reward in an attack on another philadelphia teenager. this one happened on november 16th. watch the center of your screen here. you can see the entire thing. police say the victim had just left a friend's house on north fourth street in kensington when three men attacked him. police say the suspects beat the man repeatedly. they broke his jaw and several teeth. more trouble tonight for bill cosby. two new accusers came forward today claiming bill cos bee sby sexually assaulted them years ago. gloria allred now represents the women. allred called on cosby to waive the statute of limitations so his accusers could take him to court. allred put money in a fund so that if any could be paid from that account. one challenged him to prove his innocence in court. >> i want mr. cosby to face justice for what he has done to me and to so many other women. >> this comes on the heels of a new lawsuit filed last night in california. that accuser says cosby molested her at the playboy mansion when she was just 15 years old. bill cosby is not charged with any crime. to the weather now and clearing skies tonight. a live look outside at the center city skyline. beautiful skyline there and the rain's finally gone. but apparently not for too long. first alert meteorologist sheena parveen is tracking a rainy stretch. how cold will it feel tonight? >> by tomorrow morning, jim, when our coldest temperatures hit, it will be feeling like the 20s many areas north and west around freezing. so tomorrow will be dry but cold. then we have the rainy stretch coming. right now in philadelphia, 41 degrees, northeast philly, 41, through the lehigh valley temperatures about the mid-30s. freezing up in mt. pocono. locally, though, we are drying out. we've been dry all afternoon from the rain. we're now starting to see some of those clouds breaking up. as we go into tomorrow morning, it is going to be cold to start off your day, but at least we'll also be starting off with some sunshine, not rain this time. by 8:00 in the morning, mid-30s, sunny and cold. by 10:00, 37 degrees in the city. by noon, then we'll see more clouds moving in through the afternoon. then we watch as a rainy stretch approaches. i'll show you the timing on that coming up. 16 families are out of their homes after this fire in bucks county. investigators believe tonight's fire at the foxwood manor apartments in levittown started with a gas explosion, but they're still trying to figure out what caused that explosion around 5:30 this evening. we talked to several residents who say they heard the blast and alerted their neighbors. >> we're sitting on the porch, then a big bang happened, then we ran over here and saw the whole entire smoke blast out. and we were knocking on everyone's doors. >> no one was hurt in tonight's fire. dwindling enrollment will force two schools at the jersey shore to close at the end of the school year. the two are holy family in lakewood ocean county and st. denis in monmouth county. they both will close at the end of this school year. the diocese oversees catholic schools in the shore area. parish leaders say enrollment continues to drop with more parents opting to send their children to public schools. >> these children represent the future of the catholic church. and now we move that much closer, that step closer to putting that future into question. >> the trenton diocese says a third school will have to close its doors this year if it can't raise significant funds by january. a big grand opening for a familiar name in south philadelphia. representatives from the mayor's office were on hand at the market at magglio's. magglio's sausage company converted part of its building into a specialty italian food shop. magglio's has been a part of south philadelphia since 1947. for some, 'tis the season to steal. thieves looking for ways to grab your holiday deliveries right off the front step. what you should do now to stop them. and donation danger. you may think you know where your donations to charity are going, but wait till you see how they're really being used. plus lighting up the holiday. it's a tradition in the big apple. we'll take you to the rockefeller center tree lighting. you may be waiting for a holiday delivery, but thieves also love this time of year because it's so easy to make off with packages left on the porch. nbc 10's keith jones is live in university city tonight. you spoke to a couple who was targeted? >> reporter: that's right, jim. it happened, they left the delivery on this doorstep just like this one and it took four minutes, just four, for a suspect to walk by, grab that package right there and go away with it. lucky for these homeowners, well, it was capture on surveillance video. and they showed us the real danger and real threat to everyone in the neighborhood. >> what a scumbag, i guess that was my first thought. >> reporter: she has watched this surveillance video over and over and over. >> the way he kind of walks back and forth in front of the house, he's looking to see if anybody is out and about. >> reporter: no one physically there, but cameras capture the crime. the culprit getting away with a fedex box containing a child's sit and spin bought an amazon for a 1-year-old, the boss' daughter. she and her boyfriend ian scott showed us every camera angle of the crime. >> we have three in the front and one in the back here the. >> reporter: the guy picked the wrong house. >> he picked the wrong house. >> reporter: the first one is located on their building between the first and second floor across titan street, the second one is located near the roof. i've got to run. he's got this place well covered. all the way up top near the roof. and the third and final one, which is where our suspect was caught, right underneath the awning of the front door. you can see this shot well. melissa took to facebook with the photos that have been shared nearly a hundred times because this won't be the last time a package is snatched from a stoop. tips on protecting your purchases. for start, send the package directly to work, home or a neighbor. request a signature. leave the driver a note on the door with instructions like leave package in shed or garage. at u.p.s., you can sign up for text message alerts when your deliver se expected. fedex offers to hold your package until you can sign for it. >> i ordered something and that's what i'm doing. >> reporter: quick anecdote for you. i just talked to a couple guys that live in the home right here across the street. they told me their package was stolen once it was delivered as well. ian told me that amazon.com gave him a full refund of this it is a -- sit and spin for the 1-year-old. if you know anything about this guy or recognize him, call philadelphia police. reporting live, keith joan, nbc 10 news. barely 28 days until the first of the year. that means you have just under a month to make a donation that you can write off for tax purposes this year, but we have a warning tonight to make sure you're really donating to a charity. goodwill industries says it's seeing an alarming trend of generic clothing donation bins popping up everywhere. donors think the clothes are going to needy in their communities but goodwill says that's not always the case. >> the charity names on these boxes, but they're really fronted by a for-profit entity that's selling the goods and giving the charity just a minuscule amount of the worth of your donations. >> goodwill says the best advice is do your homework and give to the charities you know and trust. tonight thousands pack new york's rockefeller center to light up one of the most famous christmas trees in the world. >> three, two, one. >> there it is. with the flip of a switch, 45,000 l.e.d. bulbs came to life tonight as millions around the world watched on television. the 85-foot norwegian spruce comes from central pennsylvania. the celebration included mariah carey and cyndi lauper. the tree will stay lit until january 7th, 2015. beautiful. legendary producer and songwriter kenny gamble and his wife held their annual fashion show fund-raiser tonight in center city. the show is appropriately named an evening of style and grace. it benefits leadership and etiquette programs for boys and girls. there's our own jacqueline london who was proud to serve as co-host for the event. now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist sheena parveen. >> well, colder temperatures are setting in now with the clouds starting to break up for most of us. so as we go overnight, clearing conditions, colder temperatures, that will be the case by tomorrow morning, but the good news for tomorrow, we will be try. so we will not be seeing rain. we'll in fact be starting off with sunshine, and then more clouds move in. we do still have another rainy stretch in the forecast. this comes as soon as late friday and across the weekend. i'll show you that in just a minute. in the lehigh valley, in the 30s, 36 reading, 41 in philadelphia. upper 30s glassboro at the moment. 42 millville. 43 in dover. here's a look at the satellite picture. a lot of clouds in south jersey and delaware. but the majority of the cloud cover we've seen today is really starting to break up across the area. that will be the case as we go overnight tonight. all the rain has moved away. now we're just watching that drier air that's off to our west. this will be moving in for tomorrow. we will be starting with sunshine as we go into tomorrow. we're just not going to finish that way. so here's a look at future weather for tonight. we do stay nice and dry. temperatures this morning will be cold. but notice as we go into 9:00, 10:00 in the morning. you don't see any rain. we'll start off sunny and cold through the afternoon. more clouds start to move in pretty quickly. all ahead of our next weather system. so by later in the day tomorrow we'll notice those clouds moving in. as we go into friday, notice the rain starting to move in. this is friday going into the weekend. area of low pressure gets closer to us. saturday we do expect rain around all day long. and then we go into sunday. more rain, area of low pressure right off shore. we could see very windy conditions especially along the shore. we could be seeing the threat of coastal flooding. and then we go into late sunday, even monday, that low is kind of hanging around. turns into a nor'easter. and there's a chance we could even see a wintry mix forming, especially areas north and west as we go into late monday, early tuesday, but we'll have more details on this as we get closer. for tonight, though, clearing skies, colder temperatures when you wake up. 33 for the low in philadelphia, mid-20s areas north and west. then tomorrow mix of sun and clouds, it will be cold. sunshine in the morning, clouds in the afternoon. temperatures anywhere from 44 to 47 degrees through the afternoon hours. then friday we're in the low 40s. we see cloudy skies, rain at night, saturday will be rainy, sunday we do expect the rain to continue, so we are looking at showers and wind in the eagles forecast for your sunday and temperatures are going to be staying cold all throughout the game. and we get even colder as we go into next week. john? >> sheena, thanks. can the sixers avoid matching the worst start in nba history? they've fallen 17 times this season. can they get up and get their first win? plus chip kelly on florida coaching rumors. this is the xfinity sports desk brought to you by xfinity. your home for the most live sports. i'm john clark. the sixers came into tonight's game in minnesota 0-17. sixers trying to avoid matching the worst start in nba history. didn't get off to a good start. sixers and timberwolves line up on the wrong sides of the court. you're going the wrong way! the refs have to start the game over. sixers down one. they started 1 for 17. mcdaniels' three. robert covington. he was 3 of 6 from the three. the rest of the team 2 for 19. then gnarlens noel seals it. 87-77. they avoid matching the worst start in nba history. >> this, as we said, validates the work that they've put in. and i just have a tremendous amount of respect for the fact that they never once quit on themselves short circuited at practice, and they were rewarded tonight. >> sixers have a one-game winning streak. big five season is here. villanova at lasalle. 'nova was up 18 at t the half. they cruise over lasalle. villanova has won 12 of 14. st. joe's leading temple most of the game. hawks would have a 14-point lead but temple comes back. they tie at the end. no! st. joe's win 58-56. hawks have won 3 of 4 versus the owls. eagles, there are reports that the university of florida would call chip kelly about their coaching vacancy, but chip says he hasn't heard from them and he wouldn't talk to them. chip's not taking the gator bait. >> my feet are right here and that's all i can can't control what people think or write, so i'll never be concerned about it. >> chip rolling right now. >> chip rolling right now. >> fliers are on a back-to-back. they lost eight straight on the rod. the game is scoreless after the first period. sixers win! i'm john clark. we'll be right back. zamir loves fax. we took him to discover all about it at philadelphia university. >> he had a great time learning all they had to show him. and got right to work on his design. >> this is probably how it would look. >> he knows what a family would mean to him. >> somebody who cares for you even when you do something wrong. >> zamir is this week's wednesday's child. >> call 1-866-do-adopt or visit nbc10.com and search wednesday's child for information on how to begin your adoption journey. deciding between buying bread and health care is much tougher. healthy pa is now here to help, with name-brand health insurance for the cost of a few basic groceries. if you're uninsured, call or apply online today. camden county police department honored several police officers and other civilian employees who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and our own vai sikahema sponsored. they recognize people and thank them for the positive impact that they've had on canton. and we got rid of the rain, now we have to deal with a little cold. >> yes, finally. tomorrow morning will be colder, around freezing, but at least it will be dry. enjoy it because the rainy stretch comes right in time for the weekend. all across the board. >> kind of a long stretch. >> kind of a long stretch, but enjoy the dryness. >> i'm jim rosenfield, for sheena and all of us, thanks for watching. the tonight show is next. >> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon." ♪ tonight, join jimmy and his guests -- daniel radcliffe -- mike tyson -- musical guest, sturgill