Torrent of water spews from skyscraper in Philadelphia

A large stream of water has been seen pouring out from the side of a skyscraper in downtown Philadelphia, soaking the street below.

The footage emerged Sunday morning showing a jet stream gushing out of one of the top floors of the One Liberty Place building, nearly 1,000ft above ground level.

According to social media users the water sprayed out of the 945ft-tall building at around 8am.

What was going on?

It's not clear just what caused the torrent, but some Twitter users speculated that the building was releasing pressure from its sprinkler system before the arrival of winter freezes water in the pipes.

Eventually the situation was cleared up by the local fire brigade who confirmed the rare sight was the result of an annual fire system test at the building.

The skyscraper, which was built in 1987, does not have the 'special drainage systems' present in newer structures that can prevent such outcomes, Kathy Matheson, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Fire Department told the Billypenn.com.

"Newer buildings are equipped with special drainage systems that pull off most of the water that is generated by such tests," Matheson said. "Liberty One wasn't required to have this [because] of when it was built."

Matheson went on to say that the building management should have taken more precaution to avoid putting cars and pedestrians in the way of an unexpected drenching: "The certification company and Liberty 1 have been directed to get a street closure permit and police assistance going forward."