City Fire Leaves 10 Homeless

City fire leaves 10 homeless By LOUIS T. LOUNSBERRY Courier-Post Staff CAMDEN — At least 10 people were left homeless Tuesday when a three-alarm fire ripped through a three-story duplex home and part of another in the Cramer Hill section of the city. The cause of the blaze was under investigation Tuesday and authorities were looking into the possibility that half of the facility, at 911 N. 24th St., was being operated illegally as a boarding home. The fire was reported at noon and was fought by about 30 city firefighters for almost 90 minutes before being declared under control. There were no reports of injuries. Camden Chief Fire Marshal Herbert C. Leary said the blaze erupted in a second-floor room at 911 N. 24th St., near Hayes Avenue, and that it quickly spread into the ceiling, the third floor and the roof. The fire then spread across the roof to the adjoining home at 909 and down into the third floor of that home, Leary said. He said the home at 911 was extensively damaged by fire, smoke and water and that the second and third floors of the other home were damaged by fire, smoke and water. He added that four people living at 909 and at least six people living in 911 were left homeless by the blaze. He said arrangements were being made through the American Red Cross to find temporary housing for the victims. Claudius Bey, who lived at 909 with his wife and two children, said they would be staying with other family members in the Camden area until his home is repaired. "There was nobody at home when the fire erupted. I've lived here 12 years. The kids were in school and my wife was out shopping. She doesn't even know about the fire yet. I was at work and a neighbor called me and told me about it. I haven't yet been allowed into my own home to see what was destroyed. I'm a contractor, and just by looking at damage I can see from the outside I know it is going to be extensive," Bey said. Next door, Luis Arocho said he and his girlfriend were asleep when they awoke to the smell of smoke. "We just threw on some clothes and fled. We were in our room on the second floor and all we have left is what's on our backs. There's nothing left to the inside of the house," he said. Arocho said that there were 10 boarders in the home and that about half of them were in the building when the fire erupted. He said all of them got out. Police said they took four people from the scene to police headquarters for questioning, but that no charges have been filed pending the outcome of an investigation by the city fire marshal's office. The blaze forced authorities to close River Road to traffic in the vicinity of 24th Street so that firefighters could lay hose to the fire scene about a half-block away. It was reopened to traffic about 3 p.m.

Courier-Post photos by Evangelos Dousmanis Duplex fire: Firefighters battle a three-alarm fire at a duplex (above) in the Cramer Hill section of Camden on Tuesday as a resident of the home (below) watches the blaze.

3 CAMDEN TELE Squrt CFD KEEP BACK [illegible]