WILDWOOD – Twenty people, including an expectant mother, were displaced from their apartments on East Juniper Avenue early Monday morning, Jan. 22, after a fire raged through their building, causing nearly $500,000 in damage.
According to a press release issued by the Wildwood Fire Department, all of the residents were able to get out of the building, but one person suffering from burns and smoke inhalation was airlifted to Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. One Wildwood Police Department officer was treated for minor injuries for a fall on ice.
According to the Fire Department, at about 5:50 a.m. Jan. 22 Wildwood Squad Co. 3 and North Wildwood Fire Department Ladder Co. 2 were dispatched to the area of Juniper and Ocean avenues for a smoke report.
Officers arriving at 319 E. Juniper Ave. immediately reported a working fire. The alarm was upgraded to a first-alarm assignment, which brings off-duty Wildwood firefighters, along with fire units from Wildwood Crest, Rio Grande and Stone Harbor.
Wildwood Squad Co. 3 arrived on the scene and reported heavy fire showing from the first and second floors of a two-story occupied dwelling, which contained six apartments with 20 occupants.
Fire Chief Ernie Troiano III arrived and assumed command, and fire companies began an interior attack on the fire while simultaneously conducting searches of the building. It was quickly determined that all of the occupants were out.
The occupant who suffered burns and smoke inhalation was transported by Wildwood Crest EMS to the Cape May County National Guard Armory and then airlifted by helicopter to Jefferson hospital.
Firefighters quickly knocked down the heavy fire on the first floor, but fire took possession of the cockloft space, the void between the ceiling and roof, which extended the length of the building.
A second alarm was transmitted, bringing companies from the Villas Fire Company and Erma Fire Company to provide coverage for the island.
According to information provided by the Wildwood Fire Department, due to a partial roof collapse and fire burning through the roof, firefighters transitioned to an exterior, defensive position and used two aerial ladders to knock down the heavy fire in the cockloft and roof area. Firefighters then reentered the building and were able to extinguish the fire.
The department said damage to the building is estimated at $475,000. The fire is under investigation by the Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office.
The Wildwood Police Department, Public Works Department and Water Utility, and the Wildwood Crest EMS squad also assisted on the scene. Firefighter rehab was provided by the Middle Township Ambulance Corps, and Erma Fire Squad Co. 62 was moved up to the scene for rapid intervention duties. The Red Cross responded to assist the displaced occupants.
Fire units operated at the scene for about four hours before leaving.
The Wildwood Fire Department thanked the Wawa at 3200 New Jersey Ave. and Santucci’s Pizza for providing food and beverages to fire department personnel working at the fire, as well as to the displaced occupants. The Wildwood Public School District also provided aid for the occupants, several of whom were students in the school district.
Santucci’s Pizza is also providing support for one of its employees, Angel Moreno, and his wife, Brianna Armstrong, who is eight months pregnant. The expectant parents lost everything in the fire, including just-received baby shower gifts and diapers. The couple is now looking for a year-round, two-bedroom apartment.
If anyone would like to donate to the couple, Santucci’s is accepting gift cards, diapers, baby clothing and cash donations. Individuals can leave donations at Santucci’s in Wildwood at 402 E. 26th Ave.
The Lazarus House, on the corner of Burk and Pacific avenues, is also accepting donations for the displaced families, and “will take food pantry items, gift cards, coats, hats, gloves and scarfs for the families,” according to a post on J. Byrne Community Center’s Facebook page. “Their hours are Monday Wednesday and Friday 10am-12pm. We ask no clothing donations as they are not set up for that. Because of their limit(ed) hours you can still drop off gift cards and food pantry items to the Recreation Center and we will make sure it gets to the families.”
Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
