Atlantic City fire destroys casino hotel, patrons flee restaurant
A fire Wednesday afternoon damaged signs and walls at the Atlantic City Resort Casino Hotel. The fire also caused the temporary evacuation of at least one restaurant and other nearby businesses.
Philadelphia television station WPVI reported that large amounts of smoke and flames could be seen coming from the casino building.
The Atlantic City Fire Department (ACFD) was notified of the fire at 3:48 p.m. About 30 firefighters responded to the scene and had the two-alarm fire under control in about 40 minutes.
Crews used chainsaws to open up the boardwalk and extinguish the flames that developed beneath the wooden structure, WPVI reported.
No one was injured during the fire and the casino floor remains open.
Atlantic City Fire Chief Scott Evans called the fire "pretty serious,"WPVI reported.
The reason is under investigation
Firefighters continued to search for the cause of the blaze Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. According to WPVI, it could have been a power failure at a utility near the boardwalk, or it could have been an accident after a homeless person tried to stay warm.
Some of the previous fires at the boardwalk have been linked to homeless people starting fires under the boardwalk in cold weather. Sometimes, the flames from their fires accidentally ignite wooden structures.
Atlantic City Public Works Department boardwalk crews helped restore the area after the fire.
The fire department initially did not provide a damage estimate.
Restaurant Customers Escape
Aris Matos told WPVI that he and his wife, Michelle, of Shrewsbury, Pennsylvania, were having breakfast at a casino restaurant when he noticed the smoke.
We had some more and then I saw the smoke getting thicker and thicker,"he recalled."Then I saw a staff member from the restaurant running outside with a fire extinguisher and trying to put out the fire, But the fire got too big and he ran back to the restaurant and told us all to evacuate. ”
The flames damaged the casino's facade and the building's canopy, Matos said. He added that part of the canopy was melted by the flames and the heat caused the canopy material to fall onto the boardwalk.
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Source: www.casino.org
