Fire damages Ocean City Boardwalk shop, injures owner

Continued from page 1

Firefighters entered the store from its back entrance and doused the blaze, Fire Department Capt. Steve Costantino said.

Police spokesman Lt. Steven Ang said the owner, Jim Schatzle, was rescued from the fire by employees at Johnson's Popcorn and Boardwalk passers-by. Schatzle was treated at the scene by Ocean City firefighters before being taken by ambulance to Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point.

Ang said his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening. Police said they hoped to interview him late Tuesday.

The fire destroyed virtually the entire inventory of the flag shop, Ang said. Two neighboring stores, Johnson's Popcorn and Heavenly Couture, also suffered smoke damage, Ang said.

Rob Neumann, who works at a neighboring shop called Linda's, said the burning flags in the store created an overpowering stench. He saw firefighters attending to Schatzle, who was lying on the Boardwalk, and suggested they had rescued him.

"There are two exits in the store. I don't know how he got stuck in there but the firemen saved him," Neumann said. "It was really thick, billowing smoke. The smell was almost overbearing here for a few minutes. It made it hard to breathe."

The blaze was extinguished in

a matter of minutes, the Fire Department said. Afterward, firefighters began the process of peeling back portions of the walls to ensure no embers remained, Costantino said.

The fire damage was contained to a single store on the Boardwalk.

"This one had a fire wall on the north side, which prevented the extension of the fire," Costantino said.

Police and fire crews are investigating the cause of the blaze. There was no estimate yet on the amount of damage caused by the fire.

Police cordoned off the block for more than two hours as firefighters worked.

E-mail Michael Miller: MMiller@pressofac.com