At least 22 people injured after deck collapse at New Jersey event
WILDWOOD, N.J. — Multiple people were injured in a reported deck collapse early Saturday evening, according to county officials.
A deck collapsed in the 200 block of East Baker Avenue shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, trapping people and injuring at least 22, including some children, officials said. No deaths were reported.
This weekend is the New Jersey Firefighters Association weekend, when thousands of firefighters from around the state gather in the beach resort for a convention and camaraderie.
It was not immediately clear if any visiting firefighters were injured or involved in the collapse.
Cape May Regional Health System said 21 people were taken there, at least three of them children. Eleven patients had been released by 10 p.m., including all the children who were admitted, hospital spokeswoman Susan Staeger said.
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City said at least one additional person was taken there.
The conditions of the remaining hospitalized people wasn’t known.
Social media posts show a three-story home with what appears to be multiple decks collapsed on one another.
Photos and video on social media showed firefighters trying to lift a piece of decking. Images showed multiple levels of decking ripped away from the building and reduced to beams and splintered wood.
Nearby resident Joann Devito saw the collapse from a deck across the street.
“I was sitting on the deck up there, and I heard this noise, so I turned and looked and saw the whole thing caving in,” she said. “I saw two women running and screaming. It was horrible.”
Jim Macheda, a retired firefighter who was in Wildwood on Saturday said he happened to be driving down East Baker Avenue when he saw the response and the aftermath.
"The second-floor, top balcony pancaked down on top of the others," Macheda said.
He said firefighters from Wildwood and surrounding departments were on the scene.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Follow Carol Comegno on Twitter: @CarolComegno
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: New Jersey deck collapse injures at least 22 people, officials say
