1 dead after fire under Atlantic City pier near homeless encampment

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A man died in a fire under an Atlantic City pier near a homeless encampment, authorities said.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office said Friday that Bruce Elder, 67, died in a fire that began Thursday evening under the Central Pier at the boardwalk and Tennessee Avenue.

Fire Chief Scott Evans said Elder was believed to be homeless, and the prosecutor's office said he appeared to be sleeping when the fire broke out. An autopsy was to be performed to determine his cause of death.

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"This was an unfortunate tragedy," Evans said. "We have dealings with encampments under the pier and boardwalk almost on a daily basis. This is an area known to be used by the homeless."

The prosecutor's office said "a small homeless encampment was observed in the area of the fire,'' adding a small campfire had been set near where Elder's body was found.

The boardwalk at Atlanic City can be seen here extending up the ocean coast. (iStock)

"Although the fire was intentionally set, it does not appear to be criminal in nature," the prosecutor's office said.

The fire spread upward, damaging the structure of part of the pier and some buildings above it. Evans said a large storage building appeared to suffer the heaviest damage, along with a rear section of a 99-cent store, and about 10% of an arcade on the pier.

Evans said some repairs need to be made to the pier itself and some of its buildings, but he was optimistic it could be reopened safely before Memorial Day weekend.

Damage from the fire did not extend to the main section of the Boardwalk. which remained intact and open on Friday.

The fire broke out at 7:06 p.m. and went to a second alarm by 7:30 p.m., the fire chief said.

About 50 firefighters battled the blaze for three hours, struggling against winds off the ocean that fanned the flames under the pier, Evans said.

It was at least the second fire on Atlantic City's Boardwalk in recent months. In November, fire burned a section of Boardwalk outside Resorts casino not far from where Thursday's fire broke out. The cause of that fire was never pinned down, although the actions of homeless people underneath the wooden walkway was one of several possibilities, Evans said.

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In Nov. 2009, the pier was hit by two fires weeks apart. On Nov. 21, a fire damaged four businesses on the pier. Then on Dec. 5, the badly decomposed body of a homeless man was found under the pier by firefighters called to yet another blaze. Authorities later said he did not appear to have been the victim of foul play.