Fire Displaces 12 from Atlantic City Rooming Rouse
One of the residents called for help at about 4:51 p.m. after smelling smoke in the rooming house on the 100 block of Westminster Place, Battalion Chief Gary Holmes said. Firefighters arrived to find flames coming from the furnace on the first floor. A second alarm was called because it was a multiunit dwelling and nearby structures might be in danger, Holmes said.
“Our biggest concern was getting all the occupants out,” Holmes said, adding that firefighters went through the rooms evacuating all the residents.
Eight adults and four children were displaced by the fire. They were taken to other properties in the city that the landlord owns, said Tom Foley, chief of emergency management.
The residents stood across the street, getting drenched in a cold rain, as they waited for permission to go inside to retrieve their belongings.
The building was declared uninhabitable because there was no heat, Holmes said. The fire marshal will determine if the residents can move back in once the furnace is fixed.
