Update: Three firefighters injured battling A.C. blaze, rescuing woman

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By JOHN SANTORE, MICHAEL MILLER and BRIAN IANIERI Staff writers

ATLANTIC CITY – Three firefighters were injured battling a blaze at an abandoned townhouse Thursday night and rescuing a woman believed to be squatting there, authorities said this morning.

Atlantic City Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said the fire appears suspicious, but authorities are still investigating its cause.

One firefighter was injured after falling through a hole in the floor, one of several that made the....Continue Reading

blaze particularly treacherous, Brooks said.

“Usually when we fall it’s a leg or two…He got wedged in the floor,” he said.

A second firefighter had light burns on his face; a third injured a shoulder carrying the unconscious woman out, he said.

Brooks said all injuries to firefighters were not serious.

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The woman, who was not identified, sustained burns to her body, back and hands.

Her condition was not immediately available.

“I don’t believe she’s doing too good,” said Brooks, who said the woman was transported to a Philadelphia-area hospital.

Firefighters pulled an unconscious woman to safety Thursday from the third floor of a burning townhouse in a blaze that threatened to take out neighboring buildings.

Firefighters were able to control the fire before it spread to other abandoned rowhomes at Lighthouse Lane on Vermont and Atlantic avenues next to the Absecon Lighthouse.

The two-alarm fire at 7 p.m. presented a grave risk to firefighters who had to tear down plywood and cut open the front door before venturing into the dark, long-abandoned apartment building. Firefighters had to step around holes in the floors.

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The female victim was unconscious and not breathing when the search-and-rescue unit found her lying on the floor of the smoke-filled third story, Chief Dennis Brooks said.

“Firefighters got her outside and were doing CPR. They got her breathing again and put a hurry-up on the ambulance,” he said.

The woman was taken to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, City Division. Her condition was not immediately available, Brooks said.

The Fire Department went to a second alarm at the scene when they saw the potential for the fire to spread.

No firefighters were injured, Brooks said.

“The fire looked like it wanted to run the roofline and get into the ceiling to involve other (homes),” Brooks said. “That’s why we went to a second alarm right away.”

Firefighters used a ladder truck to cut a hole in the roof and attack the blaze from the top and interior.

A search of the rest of the building turned up nobody else.

Brooks said it appeared the woman was squatting in the abandoned building.

“We had to be cautious. The places are vacant and there’s a lot of damage inside. There are holes in the floor and other damage to the structure through vandalism,” he said.

Brooks said his department’s coordination kept the fire from becoming a bigger disaster.

“One assignment hinges on the successful completion of another. It’s a puzzle you have to put together,” he said. “You can’t open the roof and vent the windows without having the hose lines in place. Everything has to be coordinated.”

From the sidewalk, firefighters could be seen going through the building with flashlights. The third floor suffered extensive fire damage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Brooks said.