Officials investigate cause of Atlantic City Boardwalk fire that damaged facade of Resorts casino

By WAYNE PARRY
Associated Press

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Investigators were trying Thursday to determine what touched off a fire on the Atlantic City Boardwalk a day earlier that burned a section of the historic walkway and damaged part of the facade of Resorts casino.

Although the fire damaged the casino’s main Boardwalk entrance, Resorts remains open through a secondary entrance on the Boardwalk as well as several entrances along its side across from the parking lots.

By Thursday afternoon, the casino was allowing patrons to enter from the Boardwalk through one door that was undamaged, with the rest of the entrance blocked off by metal barriers.

The fire that broke out shortly before 4 p.m. Wednesday burned parts of the Boardwalk-facing facade of the casino, including an awning and doors to the casino.

Fire Chief Scott Evans said Thursday a cause of the fire had not yet been determined.

Investigators were looking into several possibilities, including an electrical malfunction in one of the numerous utility lines running underneath the wooden walkway, or the possibility that homeless people taking shelter under the Boardwalk accidentally started the fire.

That was believed to have been the cause of a similar fire in February that burned up to the edge of the Ocean Casino Resort but did not damage the building itself, authorities said at the time.

About 30 firefighters brought Wednesday’s fire under control in 40 minutes, and no injuries were reported.

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