Atlantic City apartment fire injures 8, displaces international students

Eight people, including three firefighters, were injured after a fire tore through an Atlantic City apartment building Thursday.

Fire crews responded to a blaze at the building on South Georgia Avenue around 8 a.m., according to Scott Evans, chief of the Atlantic City Fire Department.

Five residents were injured while fleeing the building and were being treated at nearby hospitals. Two of those residents were seriously injured, according to Evans — one with burns, and one from jumping from a fourth-story window.

The three firefighters were “not seriously” injured and were also being treated for heat exhaustion and an ankle injury, Evans said.

Dramatic video posted to Facebook shows a resident hanging off the exterior of the building and prepared to jump. Fire crews helped other residents down from upper stories using a ladder, according to Evans.

More than 70 residents are now being relocated, including over 40 international students who were living there on summer work visas.

“They work on Steel Pier, the Boardwalk,” Evans said during a news conference. Most residents would be relocated, he added.

There’s no indication of what started the fire, which Evans described as “fast moving”. A fire alarm alerted residents to the blaze, he added, as flames spread between buildings in the complex. Fire crews determined that the blaze did not originate in the building housing the international students.

“Smoke went down the streets, literally you couldn’t see the building in front of you,” Evans said.

Evans described the buildings rooming houses that had been converted, with narrow hallways, small rooms, and a highly compartmentalized layout.

He said that “most” of the rooms were up to code, but that the department was still learning whether all were fully inspected.

Residents were directed to Boardwalk Hall, where Red Cross and other services are being offered.