ATLANTIC CITY — A 67-year-old man was killed Thursday night after a fire broke out while he was sleeping underneath Central Pier, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office said Friday.
Emergency personnel arrived at the pier between Tennessee Avenue and St. James Place shortly after 7 p.m. and located the body of Bruce Eder in a homeless encampment, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Investigators said a small campfire was set near the victim and although the fire was intentional, it doesn’t appear to be criminal in nature.
The fire then spread upward and damaged the boardwalk and the Central Pier arcade above.
Central Pier Manager Raul Coreas said Schiff’s, the company that owns the arcade, has been working to keep the homeless out from underneath the pier.
“It looks like some homeless people got in there and I guess they were just trying to keep warm and the fire spread from there,” Coreas said. “Schiff’s put up fencing, but they still dig underneath the fence and get in there. We’ve been trying to deal with this problem, but you can only do so much. I feel sorry that someone lost their life.”
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Coreas said he hasn’t been able to fully assess the extent of the damage.
“Mostly it seems like there is a lot of damage at the back of the pier against the wall of the building,” Coreas said. “There is a lot of water damage inside that came with preventing the fire from spreading. I really haven’t gone and seen the sides or the back yet.”
Coreas, who was in North Jersey at the time of the fire, found out about the incident after receiving a phone call from his general manager and quickly made his way back to the resort.
“Apparently multiple 911 calls came in and then around 7:10 p.m., the general manager got a call about it,” Coreas said. “He was here before I was; I got here around 9 p.m.”
More than 50 firefighters responded and worked for hours to get the fire under control, according to a CBS report. All of the businesses on the pier were closed when the fire broke out, according to the report.
Here at Central Pier this morning after a 3-alarm fire broke out last night. @ACPressHuba pic.twitter.com/syZJoQD3oC
— John O'Connor (@ACPressOConnor) April 19, 2024
Coreas isn’t sure when the pier will reopen or if Schiff’s will take any additional measures to keep people from going underneath the pier.
“It all depends on how fast insurance cuts a check and how much damage there is,” Coreas said. “I can’t really say until everything is assessed. We’re definitely not going to open up any time soon. Its going to be tough, but it has happened before. Hopefully the owner will be able to rebuild.”
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