Philadelphia firefighters work the scene of an overnight blaze in west Philadelphia on February 16, as icicles hang from where the water from their hoses froze. Bone-chilling, single digit temperatures have gripped the region, prompting the closure of all parish and regional Catholic elementary schools in the city of Philadelphia.

Ice encases a traffic light and two fire fighting ladders, formed from water used to fight a fire, near the scene of an overnight blaze in west Philadelphia on February 16.

Vehicles and a building are covered with ice as firefighters worked to keep a warehouse fire down in the Brooklyn borough of New York on February 1.

Beacon Street in Boston on February 16.

That last one wasn’t the result of fire hoses, but it’s awesome. Beside the threat of ice and snow collapsing roofs, the huge icicles are potential killers down below.

[All images and captions from here, via here. Click photos for full size.]