Fire Rescue News - About 30 left homeless after midnight fire destroys Atlantic City rooming house
ATLANTIC CITY -- Firefighters were called out to a fire in the 1400 block of Memorial Avenue late Saturday that left residents on the street -- many barefoot and still in their night clothes -- homeless.
One woman threw her two young children out a window to someone standing below, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said. The children were uninjured. The woman then....Continue Reading
jumped. She was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center for observation, Brooks said. No more information was available on the woman early Sunday.
Keith Clack, 34, was on the third floor of the rooming house with his pregnant wife, Lola, 19, when he smelled smoke, he said. He didn't think anything of it at first, but it got much stronger, he said. He looked out the window and saw heavy smoke coming from the second floor, he said.
Clack woke up his wife, who was still barefoot and dressed in just a nightshirt and boxers, and took her down the back fire escape, then went back up to help his neighbors, a senior couple, and assist the woman in getting out, he said. He went back again to help several small children get out of the building. Meanwhile, the building manager was assisting others, Clack said.
Alicia Tyler, 24, was on the third floor with her husband and children, ages 7, 4, 3 and 2. The family was asleep when people started banging on the door, Tyler said.
"All I could hear was, 'Get out of the building, get out of the building,'" she said.
"My kids are all torn up," said Tyler, who was in her pajamas and slip-on sandals, wrapped in a white sheet.
Tyler's sister, Cassie Clements, who also lived in the building, said she had just found out the building was a total loss.
"I left all my stuff. Oh well," Tyler said.
"Everybody's OK, that's all that matters," Clements said.
Clements, 26, also had been asleep, as had her two children. "I'm shaken up a bit, but everyone got out, and that's all that matters," she said.
Isiah Jackson, 20, had just laid down to sleep on the third floor when the fire alarms went off, he said. He raced out of his room wearing just a pair of jeans, a nightshirt and shoes. "All I have are my keys and my wallet," he said as he held out his pockets.
At 1:07 a.m. Sunday, firefighters were still working, the hoses were still pumping and the street remained blocked. The sound of chainsaws drifted through the street as a small crowd of people stood in a cordoned-off area wearing sheets, staring at the smoke-stained building with busted windows.
The Red Cross was assisting residents of the rooming house, Brooks said. About 30 people were relocated to an area motel.
By about 1:35, Brooks said the fire was mostly out. There were code violations and an investigation was continuing, he said. The building was severely structurally damaged and almost all the contents destroyed, he said.
This story is developing. Check back for updates.
Firefighters carry a resident out of the rooming house on Memorial Avenue in Atlantic City on Saturday night.
Absecon Emergency Services assisted at the fire scene.
Firefighters remained at the scene well after midnight.
Firefighters work on the building on Memorial Avenue in Atlantic City.
This story was taken from the news source stated above. It's content and comments are not necessarily the opinion of The Elwood Vol. Fire Company or it's members.
