June 26--A fire on the Atlantic City Boardwalk on Tuesday night is being investigated as an arson, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said.
The call to the Boardwalk at St. James Place came in at 10:50 p.m., and quickly went to a second alarm, to get more manpower on the fire that could have spread quickly, the chief said.
"We kind of got lucky because it was a large volume of fire," he said, pointing to Boardwalk joists that catch fire quickly. "That was our fear, that we were going to wind up with a pretty large Boardwalk fire. We got a lot of water on it real quick and that's what saved the Boardwalk."
A large storage unit used by Boardwalk businesses appears to have been intentionally set on fire, he said. About 100 feet of Boardwalk and the ramp were damaged.
"It started all at once," Brooks said. "There was no fire, then a very, very large fire."
The investigator on scene interviewed witnesses, and video is also being looked at, Brooks said.
There are several buildings in that area -- which is near the Irish Pub -- that have cameras.
Anyone who may have seen anything suspicious is asked to call 609-347-5595
Copyright 2013 - The Press of Atlantic City, Pleasantville, N.J.
