Dozens Homeless After Fire Tears Through Lindenwold Apartment Complex
By Steve Beck, Mike DeNardo, Dray Clark
LINDENWOLD, N.J. (CBS) – Fire officials are investigating the cause of a blaze that tore through an apartment complex in Camden County early Friday morning.
The two-alarm fire started shortly after 7 a.m. at the Stonington Court Apartments in the 1800 block of Laurel Road in Lindenwold, N.J.
Chopper 3 HD was over the scene of the fire where firefighters aggressively battled the blaze that officials say consumed 16 units of the apartment complex.
Lindenwold Fire Chief Mike Nolan says it took 60 firefighters from all over the region more than two hours to get the upper hand on the fire. Fire officials said portions of the roof collapsed as a result of the fire.
"Due to the wind conditions we had earlier on, it did push the fire through the attic making a harder fire to extinguish," Nolan explained.
Nolan said 16 of the 24 apartments in the building were destroyed.
Authorities say a police officer was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, but he is expected to be OK.
No residents were injured.
Resident Gloria Dewald-Page had little time to escape.
"I opened up my back closet to get some clothes, and the smoke was just pouring in."
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
