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With video plus photo galleries of the fire scene and its aftermath

Click here to see a gallery of the fire

Click here to see a gallery of its aftermath

ATLANTIC CITY - Like a scene out of a movie, smoke poured from the southern side of Schiff's Central Pier Saturday night while its grand entranceway was still bathed in light.

Firefighters were still battling the fire at the Boardwalk pier as of late Saturday night, with Atlantic City fire Chief Dennis Brooks estimating that "we think it's going to be a long night for us."

The fire was first reported at about 7 p.m., Brooks said, although it was unclear just where the blaze began - inside the 3 Brothers pizzeria or below the pier. Brooks said that when police first arrived, the pizzeria's owner and employees were fleeing the building after trying to battle it themselves with fire extinguishers.

Within minutes, Brooks said, the pizzeria was "fully involved," and the glass windows all blew out simultaneously. The fire soon spread to the neighboring retail stores on the St. James Place side of the pier, which General Manager Sol Kiewe said were the Beach Fair and Hot Spot clothing stores and the Smile Shop photography business.

The smoke from the fire would alternately turn white and black as the "fireplace effect" of the many petroleum-based products inside the businesses - including many stuffed animals - kept the flames alive, Brooks said. Over the course of the evening, light white smoke would turn thicker and darker just when it seemed to be leveling off - although a favorable wind blew the smoke seaward and away from other Boardwalk businesses.

At about 7:30 p.m., the inside of one of the clothing stores produced a wall of orange flame that could be seen from the street, and just after 8:15, the smoke turned blacker still. Even more firefighters arrived shortly afterward at what had been a three-alarm blaze.

Brooks said the firefighters created a "trench cut" on the roof to contain the fire to the first and second floors along the Boardwalk and keep it from spreading to the back of the pier. Brooks told Kiewe that the 99 Cent store on the Tennessee Avenue side of the pier looked to have escaped any damage.

"We just put new windows in and everything," said Kiewe, who said he has been managing the Schiff property for about 10 years.

Brooks said shortly before 9 p.m. that there were no reported injuries and that the firefighters were employing a "mostly defensive attack." An investigation into the cause of the fire would "probably get under way around daylight," he said.

New York Avenue was closed south of Pacific Avenue, along with parts of St. James Place and the parking lot between St. James and Tennessee Avenue.

Tourists and employees of neighboring businesses stood behind the police tape on either side of the pier, taking pictures as the smoke continued to billow.

Cathy Morrison, of Morris Plains, Morris County, was inside Ripley's Believe It Or Not at New York Avenue and the Boardwalk when she was evacuated - eventually.

"They said, ‘Come out, there's flames going on,'" Morrison said. "I actually didn't believe him. I thought, ‘OK, this is Believe It Or Not.'"

Jerry McCormack, of Toms River, said a friend had just walked outside to get a pizza when he turned around and saw the smoke.

The Central Pier has been hit by multiple fires in its history, including a blaze in May 2006 that started in a mattress under the Boardwalk and caused nearly a half-million dollars in damage to two stores.

In addition, a two-alarm fire in October 1996 caused at least $25,000 in damages and injured three firefighters, an October 1997 blaze injured two more firefighters, and a fire in June 2001 was believed to have been started by homeless people.

Contact Steven Lemongello:

609-272-7275

SLemongello@pressofac.com

More Coverage

• Another fire at Atlantic City's Central Pier reveals body beneath Boardwalk

13 comments:

• STONECRAB (47) posts 7:09 pm

  VEEJAY THE DOT SET THE JOINT !

• veejaytsunamix (1) posts 5:21 pm

  Fire on Atlantic City's Boardwalk HD http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EngcJn1lsQ

• Justathought (34) posts 3:06 pm

  I'd say it will be about five years until this eyesore is cleaned up.

• American_Gaming_Guru (242) posts 2:09 pm

  Like every other Schiff owned property, the Central Pier has become a DUMP and is now a burned-out centerpiece of AC's "Dead Zone" which subsequently is also primarily owned by The Schiff brothers. Good riddance!

• gchernya (40) posts 7:01 pm

  Now, conspiracy theories running wild. Schiff brothers for sure did not start the fire They maybe the bunch of a-les running a-le organization, but they are very aged multimillionaires who would be appalled by the suggestion. By the way the pier was one the most family friendly places in Atlantic City. Given what is known it is just some pizza equipment fire that run out of control. By inexplicable travesty, even as Atlantic City has natural gas delivery, food establishments often running on propane. That would mean quite a few combustibles inside. Add fresh oil in plastic 5 gallon jars, working oil in fryer, barrels of old oil, often just covered, but open, and you will get what you looking for. Fire codes in US is a joke, absence of concrete divider between the floors of buildings other then single family cannot be offset by no number of sprinklers or fire extinguishers... this one was lucky to be build before cardboard and stucco era, so it can be repaired if financially viable.

• doobie (1) posts 1:58 pm

  Not sure if these are the same owners as the other 3 Brothers around the Jersey Shore, but if it is I wouldnt doubt these guys started the fire. They are a bunch of scumb bags who would do something like this.

• acchelsea (0) posts 11:40 am

  Are the Schiff's the same people who sold those stores at Ohio and the Boardwalk to Bally's for $30 million dollars a few years back ? When was the last time that Central Pier was inspected by the city for code violations ?

• Clubber_Lang (8) posts 9:59 am

  Too bad it didn't burn down the entire pier. What a dump! Ohhh no ... where are we supposed to buy our tee shirts now???

• lighthouse (50) posts 9:11 am

  Good job ACFD! As the fall/winter fire season begins (all accidental of course)it's good to know the ACFD, despite their very few theatrical detractors,is a top notch life and property saver that ranks with the best anywhere. And something I've noticed over the years.... AC firefighters running into burning buildings while everyone else is running out..kudos to them!

• tweety7 (2) posts 9:00 am

  I know there are those that think this was a planned fire but it could also have been set by the homeless that live under the boards. This is a problem that should be addressed and would be if the police did more sweeps and made it impossible to live there. Then they could go to a shelter or somewhere like that where they could get help and hopefully be put back into society with a job so they can be productive. I would not doubt that it could also have been set on purpose, but if that is the case, wipe out all the scummy little stores run by the foreigners that are selling drug paraphernalia etc. and rebuild a new boardwalk that is like ocean city, clean and family friendly, and then you will see and increase in people coming to atlantic city.

• southjersey (240) posts 8:41 am

  moverightalong Amen, we even use to know which stores would be set on fire. I mena everyone sort of knew. Hey AC NEVER REALLY CHANGES NOW DOES IT? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

• moverightalong (195) posts 11:47 pm

  Right on stagehand

• Stagehand951 (7) posts 11:37 pm

  Has anyone noticed the amusing irony in one of the pictures? Smoke pouring out of the pizza joint, which is right next to a store called the Hot Spot? You can't make this stuff up, folks. Someone should send it to Jay Leno.

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