One man has died after a fire broke out under an Atlantic City pier near a homeless encampment, authorities said.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday that Bruce Elder, 67, died in a fire that started Thursday night under the Central Pier at the Boardwalk and Tennessee Avenue.
Fire Chief Scott Evans said Elder appeared to be homeless, and prosecutors said Elder appeared to be asleep at the time of the fire. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of his death.
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“This was an unfortunate tragedy,” Evans said. “We deal with encampments under piers and boardwalks almost every day. These are areas known to be used by the homeless.”
“A small homeless encampment was observed near the fire scene,” prosecutors said, adding that a small bonfire had been set up near where Elder’s body was found.
Here you can see the Atlantic City promenade stretching along the coast. (St. Petersburg)
Prosecutors said, “Although the arson was intentional, there does not appear to be any criminal intent.”
The fire spread upwards, damaging the structure of part of the pier and some of the buildings above it. Evans said the large warehouse building appeared to be the hardest hit, with about 10% of the rear of the 99 cent store and the pier arcade damaged.
Evans said the pier itself and some of its buildings require repairs, but he is optimistic it can be safely reopened by Memorial Day weekend.
The fire did not cause any damage to the main part of the promenade. The building remained intact and was open on Friday.
According to the fire chief, the fire broke out at 7:06 p.m., and a second alarm was issued by 7:30 p.m.
Evans said about 50 firefighters battled the blaze for three hours, battling ocean winds that fanned the flames under the pier.
This is at least the second fire on Atlantic City’s Boardwalk in recent months. In November, a fire destroyed part of the boardwalk outside the resort casino, not far from where Thursday’s fire started. The cause of the fire was not determined, but Evans said the actions of homeless people under the wooden walkway were one of several possibilities.
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In November 2009, the pier suffered fires every two weeks. On November 21, a fire damaged four of his stores on the pier. Then, on December 5, firefighters responding to another blaze found the badly decomposed body of a homeless man under the pier. Authorities later said he did not appear to be the victim of foul play.
