Fire officials: Welding work sparked three-alarm blaze at Wildwood motel
WILDWOOD - Fire officials say welding work sparked a three-alarm fire that caused $500,000 worth of damage to an Ocean Avenue motel Tuesday morning.
The Wildwood Fire Department responded to the Windward Motel around 11:28 a.m. for reports of a structure fire.
"Firefighters found heavy fire in the cockloft space, an open void space between the ceiling and roof, which extended the length of the building," Wildwood City Deputy Fire Chief Dan Dunn said.
"Firefighters cut a trench cut in the roof of the motel, which is utilized to keep the fire from spreading to uninvolved areas of the building" he added. "Firefighters were able to contain the fire to the one wing of the building and prevented it from spreading to any of the surrounding buildings.
According to Dunn, it took firefighters around one hour, 30 minutes to get the blaze under control. No injuries were reported, he said.
An investigation by the Cape May County Fire Marshal's Office determined the cause was accidental from welding work happening on the second floor of the motel.
The Wildwood Police Department closed Ocean Avenue between Cresse and Rio Grande avenues as fire crews battled a blaze.
All roadways have since reopened, according to city officials.
Multiple fire companies assisted Wildwood during the fire response, including Wildwood Crest; Rio Grande; Stone Harbor; Villas; Erma; Cape May City; Ocean View; Green Creek; and Cape May Courthouse. Wildwood Crest EMS also assisted at the scene.
A South Jersey native, Anthony Coppola has handled a variety of beats at The Daily Journal, Courier-Post and Burlington County Times, including award-winning work in sports and business coverage. Coppola, who joined the staff in 2008, now focuses on regional education reporting. Please consider supporting local journalism with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Vineland Daily Journal: Wildwood NJ: Welding work to blame for Winward Motel blaze
