A Wednesday afternoon blaze damaged the marquee sign and walls of Atlantic City’s Resorts Casino Hotel. The fire also led to the temporary evacuation of at least one restaurant and other nearby businesses.
Large plumes of smoke and flames could be seen coming from the casino building, according to Philadelphia TV station WPVI.
The Atlantic City Fire Department (ACFD) was notified about the fire at 3:48 p.m. Some 30 firefighters rushed to the scene. They attacked smoke and flames at the complex. The two-alarm fire was brought under control in about 40 minutes.
Crews used chainsaws to open up the Boardwalk to douse flames that originated underneath the wooden structure, WPVI reported.
There were no injuries. The casino floor remained open during the fire.
Atlantic City Fire Chief Scott Evans called the blaze “pretty serious,” according to reports from WPVI.
Cause Under Investigation
As of Wednesday night, fire officials continued to search for the cause of the fire, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. It may have started from an electrical malfunction from utilities housed near the Boardwalk or an accident after homeless residents attempted to get warm, according to WPVI.
Some prior fires on the Boardwalk were linked to homeless residents lighting fires under the Boardwalk in colder weather. At times, flames from their fires accidentally ignited the wooden structure.
Atlantic City Department of Public Works Boardwalk crews assisted in repairing the area following the fire.
Fire officials didn’t immediately provide a damage estimate.
Restaurant Customers Flee
Aris Matos told WPVI that he and his wife, Michelle, of Shrewsbury, Pa., were eating an early dinner at a casino restaurant when he spotted the smoke.
We ate some more and then I saw the smoke was getting thicker and thicker,” he recalled. “Then I saw one of the workers in the restaurant run outside with a fire extinguisher to try to put it out, but the flames were already too big, and he ran back inside the restaurant and told us all to evacuate.”
He revealed that flames damaged the facade of the casino and a canopy on the building. Parts of the canopy melted from the flames, he added. The intense heat led the canopy material to drop onto the Boardwalk.
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