Point Pleasant Beach, NJ – Officials say 10 people are unaccounted for after a fire that destroyed a motel at the Jersey shore, killing three people.
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The blaze at the Mariner’s Cove Motor Inn was reported at about 5:30 a.m. Friday. The two-story wood structure was engulfed by flames when firefighters arrived.
Ocean County Prosecutor Joseph Coronato says three males died in the fire and eight people were injured. Several of the injured sustained serious burns.
One of the injured is a woman who was rescued by firefighters after she holed up in a shower to escape the smoke and flames.
Coronato says the search and recovery phase of the investigation will continue until officials are certain they’ve accounted for the approximately 40 people who were registered at the motel.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
An early morning fire killed three people Friday at a Jersey shore motel whose residents included Superstorm Sandy victims who were staying there because their homes remain uninhabitable nearly a year and a half after the storm, officials said.
Three other people were critically injured in the blaze that broke out around 5:30 a.m. at the Mariner’s Cove Motor Inn two blocks from the beach in this popular summer resort town.
Authorities said several other people may be unaccounted for. Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the Ocean County prosecutor’s office, said investigators are interviewing motel management to determine how many people were staying there when the fire broke out. The motel’s office was destroyed and most records were lost, he said.
Survivors described a chaotic scene of flames, smoke and screaming, with several people leaping from second-floor windows to save themselves.
Peter Kuch said he smelled smoke and opened his door to find a lounge area engulfed in flames. He dialed 911 to seek help, and by the time the call was completed, the flames were at his door and licking at the windows of his second-floor unit.
He decided to jump.
“I had to, there was no other way out,” he said. “My window was only open an inch and flames were already starting to come through it. There just was no other choice.”
He suffered a sprained ankle but said he was otherwise all right.
Joe Frystock was one of the Sandy victims who was staying at the motel, which like many others in this resort, relies on people seeking low-cost rentals during the slow winter season. His home in nearby Brick Township took on 6 feet of water in the storm, and the motel was the latest in a series of temporary homes for him.
Frystock, who is diabetic, said he frequently has to use the bathroom at night. He woke up to popping sounds, which he initially thought was gunfire.
“It was the sound of timbers burning upstairs,” he said. “I looked out and saw that orange low, and there was no mistaking what it was. People were yelling: `Help me! Help me!’ There was lots of screaming. A woman in the unit next to me, they pulled her from a bathtub, but I don’t know how anyone could have survived those flames. The entire second floor was engulfed, from one end to another.”
Frystock said he and some other residents pounded on doors and windows of first-floor occupants yelling for them to get out.
Denise Dougherty, the motel’s housekeeper, said she was awakened by screams.
“There were people yelling, `Help me! Help me!’ and other people yelling, `Jump! Jump!’ It was terrible.”
Shawn Wardell said a strong wind was fanning the flames across the second floor of the motel, where he had been staying with his cousin and grandparents.
“We got my grandfather out `cause he’s disabled, and by that time the whole second floor was just engulfed in flames,” he said. “People were yelling and screaming.”
Investigators were looking into what caused the fire.
Residents gave conflicting accounts of whether they heard smoke detectors or fire alarms sounding. Some said they heard nothing, while others said a fire alarm was blaring as the flames were sweeping eastward across the top of the building.
Authorities did not immediately identify the victims.
The Ocean County Sheriff’s Department said one of the injured included one of its detectives, who suffered a severe leg injury at the fire scene. No other details were immediately available.