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Post by wildre on Dec 9, 2005 15:57:26 GMT -5
NBC10.com Motel On Wildwood Boardwalk Fully Engulfed In Flames POSTED: 3:28 pm EST December 9, 2005 UPDATED: 3:43 pm EST December 9, 2005 WILDWOOD, N.J. -- A five-alarm fire has engulfed the Shore Plaza Motel and Sam's Pizza Shop in Wildwood. images.ibsys.com/2005/1209/5502932_400X300.jpg![]() [/img] The motel is located at 26th Avenue and Boardwalk. North Wildwood, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest fire departments have all responded to the scene. Officials say that the entire motel is affected by the blaze. Stay tuned to NBC 10 News for updates on this developing story. Copyright 2005 by NBC10.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
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Post by wildre on Dec 9, 2005 16:02:58 GMT -5
A little more info on the 98.7 The Coast website.
12/9/05 - JUST IN: Major Fire Hits Shore Plaza Hotel in Wildwoods - Click here to print this information
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Local fire departments are at the scene of a major fire that has hit the Shore Plaza Hotel, located at 26th Avenue and the Boardwalk in North Wildwood. Fire crews were called out this afternoon to the site of the fire, which has been very stubborn and fueled by this afternoon's high winds.
Eyewitnesses at the scene say there is heavy smoke and high flames at the site of the hotel, which is located right next to Sam's Pizza on the Wildwoods boardwalk. The hotel is being completely destroyed by today's fire.
Witnesses are also telling us that the major fire is likely to destroy the pizza shop, and now firemen are trying to protect nearby businesses, including Gateway 26, the city's boardwalk, and Morey's Pier.
The fire apparantly started towards the rear of the building, and spread through the roof and started to burst through the front of the hotel.
Many people on the scene, including a few firemen, do not know at this time what started this afternoon's fire at the old hotel.
The Shore Plaza has been in business for at least 50 years, according to locals who are at the fire scene. The smoke coming from the fire is blowing erratically, from west to east, and changing colors from black to white as fresh oxygen and wood from the motel continues to fuel the fire.
The Shore Plaza is one of the larger buildings on the city's boardwalk, and smoke has been seen visible for miles.
If we have any further updates on this major fire at the Shore Plaza Motel in the Wildwoods, you'll be able to read them on this website.
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Post by Cindy on Dec 9, 2005 16:12:21 GMT -5
OH NO! I'm saying a little prayer that they can contain the fire before it affects anything else.
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Post by dolfinmusic on Dec 9, 2005 16:16:32 GMT -5
I just saw this on the news!!! I am so sad  Sam's is my favorite pizza place and I am so sad for them - I do hope they decide to rebuild! I am sad about the hotel too. I know my Mom has always wanted to stay in the front rooms and I was thinking about renting one for a weekend for a Mother's Day gift but I guess that isn't going to happen now. I do hope they can contain the fire and nothing else is destroyed - so much has been destroyed already but what I saw on the news looked really bad. Sad day for Wildwood and those that love Wildwood  |
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Post by wildre on Dec 9, 2005 18:05:20 GMT -5
For anyone like me, 400 plus miles away. CBS channel 3 www.kyw.com/ Has a great video on their website, it's long so get a snack; Our local new here in North Carolina even showed a live feed from the Wildwood Boardwalk, I thought that was very neat, just sorry it had to be a fire. re |
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Post by FlyinGN on Dec 9, 2005 18:41:39 GMT -5
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Post by Doowopper on Dec 9, 2005 21:19:59 GMT -5
Well, when all is said and done, I hope Sam's and the Shore Plaza will rebuid. What a sad day. I can't imagine how the owners feel, watching their place go in the worst possible way.  I cringe everytime I see this picture. |
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Post by Crippled_Visions on Dec 9, 2005 23:42:42 GMT -5
Well, when all is said and done, I hope Sam's and the Shore Plaza will rebuid. What a sad day. I can't imagine how the owners feel, watching their place go in the worst possible way. The owners will feel a lot better once they get the fat insurance check....and when the get the next check from the developers who buy the land. |
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Post by MMM on Dec 10, 2005 0:39:44 GMT -5
The video footage looks really bad. I feel terrible about this. At least no one got hurt. The grandson seemed to be holding back tears when interviewed on CBS on the video I saw. Just awful. I wonder what they're going to do?
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Post by FlyinGN on Dec 10, 2005 7:30:59 GMT -5
I heard at 10 pm last night it was still burning and by 11, the whole building collasped. The only thing left of sams and the shore plaza is the facad of sams:(
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Post by Doowopper on Dec 10, 2005 8:51:55 GMT -5
WCAU-TV—Philadelphia, PA
•MAKE THIS YOUR LOCAL NEWS TOP STORIES FROM:
Nine-Alarm Fire Hits Wildwood Boardwalk Stores
WCAU-TV
WILDWOOD, N.J. - A fire that has engulfed the Shore Plaza Motel and Sam's Pizza in Wildwood has been upgraded to a nine-alarm blaze. Slideshow:Wildwood Motel Fire
Video: Fire Hits Wildwood Boardwalk Stores
No serious injuries were reported in the blaze.
The fire began around 2:30 p.m. on the third floor of the 70-unit Shore Plaza Motel and spread quickly as strong winds fanned flames that broke through the roof.
The cause of the blaze has not been determined.
Dozens of firefighters from Wildwood and surrounding communities battled the fire, and were able to prevent it from spreading to other buildings nearby.
"The firefighters made several attempts to (initially) attack the fire but were pushed back each time," Wildwood Fire Chief Conrad Johnson said in an interview in an Atlantic City newspaper. "The fire then took advantage of the mazelike interior corridors of the motel, and once it was in the center corridor, it took over the building from east to west."
Four firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and related problems, officials said, but no serious injuries were reported. The motel was mostly empty at the time the fire broke out.
The motel's distraught owner, Salvatore Spera, and his family sat in their car in a nearby parking lot, watching firefighters try to save the building. Spera declined to comment, but his daughter, Rosemary Zuccarello, said the family was in shock.
The motel was built in 1960 and had been in her family since 1977, she said.
"We are devastated," Zuccarello said. "It's our life. It's all we know. It's all we've ever done."
The motel, located across the Boardwalk from Hunt's Pier, covered more than half of the block between the Boardwalk and Ocean Avenue.
Three or four businesses located on the bottom floor of the motel have also been gutted by the fire, including a Rita's Water Ice.
Wildwood's fire chief said that the winds have been a help and a hindrence in fighting the blaze.
"The wind is actually helping because it's blowing into the back of the building and it's pushing the fire towards the beach and its helping spread the fire. We had crews enter three times to try to make headway and they were driven back three times," Johnson said.
Barbara Culp and Pat Smith told NBC 10 News that they saw the fire on TV and ran to check on their house, which is located next door to the motel.
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Post by wildwanderer on Dec 10, 2005 12:07:14 GMT -5
Another sad WW story.
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Post by Robert on Dec 10, 2005 13:36:33 GMT -5
Sounds like the same thing like what happened to Castle Dracula, the whole building collapsed. And all the firefighters trying to fight the fire. And mazelike interior corridors, Castle Dracula had those, too which fed the fire. All that's left is the facad, that's all that was left when the castle fire was finally put out, the strip of games and food stands along the boardwalk that were part of the castle between Nickels Midway and Casino Piers. Wasn't the Fun Pier fires in 1984 big blazes, too? Those fires claimed the Castle Frankenstein walk-through horror attraction, then the Lost World dark ride and Crazy House fun house and a mirror maze. Also, wasn't part of Nickels (where the wax museum was) destroyed by a big blaze, too around 1992? Oh, remember the Hunt's Starlight Ballroom fire that claimed the Hitchcock Manor dark ride on Mariner's Landing in August, 1981? And the various shops that burned on the boardwalk, too, Funchase has articles about some of them.
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Post by CondorAlex on Dec 10, 2005 14:24:36 GMT -5
Sounds like the same thing like what happened to Castle Dracula, the whole building collapsed. And all the firefighters trying to fight the fire. And mazelike interior corridors, Castle Dracula had those, too which fed the fire. All that's left is the facad, that's all that was left when the castle fire was finally put out, the strip of games and food stands along the boardwalk that were part of the castle between Nickels Midway and Casino Piers. Wasn't the Fun Pier fires in 1984 big blazes, too? Those fires claimed the Castle Frankenstein walk-through horror attraction, then the Lost World dark ride and Crazy House fun house and a mirror maze. Also, wasn't part of Nickels (where the wax museum was) destroyed by a big blaze, too around 1992? Oh, remember the Hunt's Starlight Ballroom fire that claimed the Hitchcock Manor dark ride on Mariner's Landing in August, 1981? And the various shops that burned on the boardwalk, too, Funchase has articles about some of them. The difference is that it will be rebuilt and the castle won't be. |
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Post by FlyinGN on Dec 10, 2005 14:38:49 GMT -5
heres a pic of what is left of Sams:(  |
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