By JACK FICHTER and HERALD STAFF REPORTERS
DIAMOND BEACH — Eighteen persons were injured July 7 just before 7:30 p.m. when the floor of the Crab House Restaurant, which adjoined Two Mile Landing Restaurant, collapsed in a V-shape, according to Conrad Johnson, Wildwood fire chief, who acted as public information spokesman at the scene.
Johnson described the incident as a “partial collapse of the interior floor of the bar, kitchen and service area.” He added that about 300 patrons were in the immediate area of the collapse, and about 900 in the restaurants, which are located in Lower Township on Fish Hook Road off Ocean Drive, between Wildwood Crest and Cape May.
Erma Fire Chief Warner Muller told the Herald diners reported the collapsing floor made a sound like a series of gunshots. He said an initial call reported a collapsing floor and gunshots.
No one fell all the way through to sand below the restaurant. During high tide, there is water beneath the restaurant.
Muller said no serious injuries were reported. He said nine persons were treated at the scene. Nine other persons were transported to Cape Regional Medical Center where they were treated and released. They were: Carol Werwinski, 42, of Philadelphia; Betty Dewitt, 50, of Trumbaursville, Pa.; Helen Murphy, 64, Philadelphia; Chitlyn Kucher, 18, Quakertown, Pa.; John Kemp 45, of Philadelphia; an 11-year-old juvenile from Philadelphia; Edward Giamantonio, 61, West Chester, Pa.; Jackie Butkiewicz, 43, Monroe; and Cindy Dougherty, 48, of Edison.
The collapse stopped short of the kitchen. It trapped a server in a walk-in refrigerator after he went looking for a side of horseradish for a table. He was trapped for 15 minutes until a crew member unscrewed the door.
“It was prime time, the place was loaded,” said Muller.
He said the firefighter’s first job was to evacuate everyone from both buildings. He said he called State Police Task Force One Urban Search and Rescue Unit and Atlantic City Fire Departments Collapse Unit.
“If there was entrapment, Atlantic City Fire could have come down, shored the building up until we could get in there and do the rescue,” he said.
He said all in all, rescue efforts worked very well.
Muller said the Crab House may collapse in on itself because it now lacks structural support. The roof is bowed in sections.
State Police engineers told Muller the building will come down on its own “being that everything underneath is already gone.”
Muller said the Crab House was holding its own weight via the walls.
“It’s just kind of hanging there, pulling itself down,” he said.
A question in Muller’s mind: if the Crab House collapses, will Two Mile Landing also collapse. He said the restaurants appear to have had addition after addition constructed over the years.
On Monday evening, patrons were still driving into the parking lot of the restaurants. A sign on the entrance to Two Mile Landing indicated it would reopen Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Security personnel were directing patrons to Urie’s Restaurant.
A second floor apartment connected to the Crab House has been vacated.
Muller said air conditioning units may need to be removed from an area of sagging roof between the two restaurants. He questioned if it was safe to put a man up there to cut the units loose.
Muller said the floor is sloping in the entrance foyer.
Lower Township Building Inspector Gary Playford, who works with Township Construction Official Jim Cannon told the Herald the engineering firm O’Donnell Naccarato was scheduled to inspect the site yesterday to determine if the Two Mile Restaurant could be reopened.
He said he did not believe the Crab House would suffer further collapse.
“They had a technical team come in from the State Police and they deemed it an isolated incident held to the one side,” said Playford.
When the floor gave way, it rested an abandoned bulkhead under the building which stopped if from dropping all the way through to the sand below.
Muller said when he arrived, people were pouring out of the restaurants. He said some diners ran towards the parking lot, some in the opposite direction onto a deck.
“It was just pure chaos,” he said. “We had injuries on the dockside, we had injuries in the parking lot, it was just overwhelming for everybody.”
He said the fire company had reports of trapped people and missing persons, which were proven untrue.
Kitchen and restaurant staff members immediately pulled out people who fell into the void.
“They actually did the rescues before we got here,” said Muller.
Lower Township Fire Official David Perry said he believed the Crab House would need to be demolished. He said the incident should “open some eyes for all buildings built on pilings.”
On Monday, kitchen employees were washing garbage cans outside the Two Mile Landing Restaurant.
Crab House Manager Mark Earhart said fish and crabs were being disposed of since water, electric and gas was turned off in the Crab House. He said he was creating an inventory of all items lost.
Earhart said some diners were reluctant to leave because they hadn’t finished eating. Many ate free that night, leaving before their meal checks arrived.
Fire companies responded from Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Cape May and Town Bank. Ambulances responded from Middle Township, all the Wildwoods, and Cape May, said Muller.
“Everybody cooperated, the assistance was 100 percent,” said Muller.
He said he was grateful for all the mutual effort that was provided.
(Al Campbell, Lauren Suit and Megan Gillin-Schwartz contributed to this story.)
