PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A fire that damaged 40 decommissioned SEPTA buses at a Philadelphia storage yard on Thursday was caused by a battery on an electric bus, according to SEPTA.

(The video in the player above is from previous coverage.)

Employees reported the fire around 6:15 a.m. at the SEPTA Midvale District, next to the Roberts Yard, in the 2400 block of Roberts Avenue in the Tioga-Nicetown section of the city.

It was upgraded to a 3-alarm blaze around 7:30 a.m. Thick, black smoke could be seen billowing in the air at the height of the fire.

When the smoke finally cleared, some of the buses could be seen melted to the ground.

A total of 100 buses were in the yard, including gas-powered and electric buses.

Of the 40 decommissioned SEPTA buses, 15 were electric, officials said. T

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