Fire at Bellevue started from torch spark, officials say

Last Updated on Saturday, September 29, 2012 10:14 am Written by Ann Richardson Saturday, September 29, 2012 09:33 am

OCEAN CITY – Thick brown smoke formed plumes in the sky as the fire at the Hotel Bellevue burned for several hours Friday, Sept. 28 before firefighters from Cape May and Atlantic counties were able to subdue the flames.

Early Friday evening, Ocean City Fire Chief Chris Breunig confirmed that the demolition crew was using a cutting torch to remove a metal fire escape on the back side of the building when the fire began.

“Everything is out at this point,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse.” 

Earlier this month, the vacant hotel, which was being demolished when the fire began Friday morning, was deemed structurally unsafe by the city, which issued the purchase order for the demolition.

Breunig said Friday evening that the firefighters were wrapping things up and that the demolition crew could resume knocking down the four-story back portion of the hotel. They were given permission to work overnight.

Cape May County brought in CBRNE team, dealing with chemical, biological, radioactive, nuclear and explosive threats, to monitor the air quality. Breunig said some people have expressed concern about asbestos, but Cape May County health officials found nothing hazardous. 

Firefighter Ray Clark said Friday afternoon that the Ocean City Fire Department received a call at 10:31 a.m. of a structure fire at Hotel Bellevue. The historic hotel is made up of two section, the back section at four stories is newer, while the front section at six stories is original to the hotel.

The first arriving fire companies took up a “defensive” position, Clark said, meaning they did not go in because the structure was empty and did not want to put any firefighters at risk unnecessarily.

Breunig initiated a fire department recall immediately, meaning all off-duty firefighters are called in. Fire departments from Marmora, Linwood, Somers Point, Margate, Longport, Scullville, Cardiff and Bargaintown also responded. In total, nine fire companies arrived.  

“They were all on the scene helping to fight the fire,” he said.

All three Ocean City fire stations were fully staffed during the fire.

“The island was protected,” he said.

Deputy Chief Mark McCully of the Ocean City Fire Department was the “incident commander” directing operations of the fire.

AtlantiCare was on scene, providing a trailer for firefighters to rehab and cool off, get rehydrated. Upper Township Rescue Squad was there also.

Ocean City Police provided crowd control and security measures.

“It’s an enormous building,” Clark said.

So far, as firefighters have assessed, no nearby structures suffered noticeable damage though there may be smoke damage inside.

During a press conference at 4:30 p.m. in front of the Biscayne Suites, 820 Ocean Ave., Breunig, Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, city business administrator Mike Dattilo and other city officials were on hand to address the many media outlets looking for information.

The mayor thanked Ocean City firefighters and all of the mutual aid fire companies for their help.