30 Displaced in AC Rooming House Fire

An Atlantic City firefighter was seriously injured in the blaze

An Atlantic City firefighter was seriously injured while battling a fast-moving rooming house fire that displaced 30 residents.

Robert D. Gragg was in the intensive care unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, where he was being treated for damage to his lungs caused by smoke inhalation. Further details were not disclosed Sunday, but Gragg - who has been a city firefighter for nearly 3 years was expected to remain in the ICU until at least Monday morning.

No residents were seriously injured in the blaze, which broke out around 11:45 p.m inside a rooming house at 1401 Memorial Avenue. Saturday. But most fled with just the clothes they were wearing, and many were rescued by firefighters and neighbors.

Witnesses said a woman tossed two young children to safety from a second-floor window before jumping herself. And firefighters rescued an elderly man trapped in a third-floor room.

Investigators said the fire was caused by an overheated hot plate.

 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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