Fire In OC Condo Contained

OCEAN CITY -- A fire at a north-end condominium Wednesday afternoon was quickly contained to the kitchen of the unit where it originated and no injuries were reported save for a cut on the hand of the resident who broke a glass fire alarm to report it.

Shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, the Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) responded to a fire alarm activation at the Sea Watch Condominiums on 115th Street. First arriving units reported smoke showing from a unit on the first floor of living units in the building and the report was upgraded to a working fire. Once the report was upgraded, every available unit in the OCFD was activated and responded en masse to the building.

Other neighboring fire departments also responded, some to the scene and others to back-fill the stations in Ocean City vacated by the units that responded to the fire. In all, three Worcester County departments and three from neighboring Sussex County in Delaware were involved, according to OCFD Public Information Officer Steve Price. For example, crews and apparatus from Roxana and Millville were on the scene.

The fire was located in the kitchen of Unit 111 in the Sea Watch and was brought under control in about 40 minutes. The fire completely destroyed the kitchen and the rest of the unit sustained heavy smoke damage. Some of the adjacent units sustained light smoke damage, according to Price. The only injury reported was a cut to the hand of the unit’s lone occupant, who broke the glass on an exterior fire alarm to alert officials.

Other residents evacuated the building and were seen milling around the vast condo complex as fire alarm lights blinked and sirens sounded. Crews remained on scene for over an hour with several large pieces of apparatus on the condo grounds and along Coastal Highway for about a block in either direction. The Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office is conducting an investigation and the cause has not been made public.