Fire-Rescue News- Two Brigantine fires destroy one house, damage three others
The second fire in Brigantine in less than 10 hours destroyed one house and damaged two others on Alberta Drive on Tuesday afternoon, police and fire officials said, leaving two families displaced.
The fire was reported just before 1:30 p.m. in the 600 section of Alberta Drive, part of an attached townhouse development, police Lt. James Bennett said.
Fire crews under Chief John Frugoli arrived to find smoke and flames coming through the....Continue Reading
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roof of the two-story townhouse, fire Lt. Jim Maguire said in a release, as well as heavy smoke coming from the front and back.
Firefighters extended a fire attack line into the burning building while others went into the neighboring house to ventilate and help contain the spread of the fire, Maguire said, which was brought under control in a little more than an hour.
By 3 p.m., area residents stood and watched as fire crews were still shooting water into the open hole caused by the partial collapse of the roof. Maguire said the townhouse suffered heavy fire and smoke damage estimated at about $200,000 and is considered “a complete loss.”
One neighboring unit sustained $150,000 worth of damage, Maguire said, while another neighboring unit sustained about $50,000 worth of smoke and water damage.
Residents told officials that all of the occupants had escaped the building before the fire crews arrived, and no injuries were reported.
Two families who were not identified were put out of their homes by the fire, Bennett said. One was obtaining shelter through the American Red Cross, and the other was staying with family.
A woman and an adolescent boy who neighbors said lived in one of the houses were filling out paperwork about a block away from the remains of the house. The woman, in obvious distress, began to describe what happened during the fire before another woman jumped in to say that, as a renter and not an owner, it was best they not talk about it.
Fire crews from Ventnor, Longport and Absecon assisted the Brigantine Fire Department in battling the blaze, as well as a county Emergency Management unit and a Galloway Township EMS crew.
The cause of the fire was under investigation by Fire Investigator Joseph Lavigna.
Earlier, an overnight fire on an outside deck of a three-story duplex caused $20,000 in damage, Maguire said.
The fire was reported at in the 4000 block of Atlantic-Brigantine Boulevard at 3:25 a.m. Tuesday. Maguire and five firefighters arrived in two engines and a rescue truck to find heavy smoke and flame on the deck at the rear of the building.
The fire was brought under control within five minutes of the firefighters’ arrival, Maguire said.
Six occupants of the two units evacuated the building on their own, prior to the fire department’s arrival, and were allowed to return once an investigation was completed.
The fire, which was confined to the rear deck, siding, and crawl space of the structure, was determined to be accidental, Maguire said.
Contact Steven Lemongello: 609-272-7275 SLemongello@pressofac.com
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