ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (KYW Newsradio) — One man is dead after a fire at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Thursday night.
It happened around 7 p.m. along Tennessee Avenue.
The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office says the fire appears to have started as a small campfire at a homeless encampment underneath the boardwalk.
They believe it spread to combustible material nearby then grew to a three-alarm fire, burning a section of the pier and arcade above.
Investigators say the victim, 67-year-old Bruce Elder, was sleeping at the time.
Although the fire was intentionally set, investigators say it doesn’t appear to be criminal in nature.
Atlantic City Fire Chief Scott Evans says encampments are a daily challenge for the city and as soon as one camp is cleared out, another pops up.
“Our homeless people are very resourceful, and we’re seeing them tapping into illegal electrical lines, and they’re being creative with cooking devices and heating devices in spaces that are not designed to have these types of devices,” he said.
Officials in Atlantic City say the area near the fire is open and there doesn’t appear to be any major structural damage to the pier. They are hopeful everything will be open by Memorial Day.