The City of Pleasantville Fire Department responded to Pleasant Avenue for a structure fire. Car 70 arrived and reported a working fire in a two-story wood frame structure with a seven-story high-rise as an exposure. Command requested a second alarm, bringing mutual aid from Linwood, Absecon, Northfield, Farmington, Atlantic City Airport and Cardiff. Command had Engine 1 back down and pull handlines, but the fire had gained quite a headway, eventually consuming the building. As mutual aid began arriving, some crews started pulling handlines for master streams alongside the high rise while other crews went in and started evacuating the high rise. Additional mutual aid was requested, bringing fire companies from throughout the county. A “surround and drown” operation was put into place as numerous ladder streams and master streams were used; a 100-foot ladder from Linwood was positioned on the A side and was supplied by the Farmington and the Atlantic City Airport engines. Pleasantville Engine 2 supplied their Engine 1 which fed numerous master streams on the D side. On the C side, Absecon, Northfield, and Somers Point engines supplied aerial streams to Pleasantville, Absecon, and Pomona. Other mutual aid companies were brought in for manpower with Atlanticare, Tricare, and Galloway EMS setting up rehab on Main Street. Eventually, Pleasantville Public works brought in a large front-end loader and breached the Bravo side wall and what was left of the second floor. Pleasantville firefighters remained on scene for the rest of the day hosing down hot spots and assisting investigators.
– Fire News photos by Eric ‘Doc’ Moran and Dennis C. Sharpe
