News

At 10:03pm on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, the Ocean Pines Vol. Fire Department was alerted for a residential structure fire at 301 Ocean Parkway.  Worcester Central advised that they had received multiple calls and that more than one house was on fire. Additional responses were requested from the Berlin, Bishopville, Ocean City, and Showell Fire Departments.

Engine 1101 was first on scene and confirmed a two-story house fully involved with extension to the neighboring houses. Upon his arrival, Chief Grunewald established command while crews from Engines 1101 & 1102 quickly established a water supply and placed multiple attack lines in service. Due to the volume of fire, command issued evacuation orders and crews transitioned to defensive operations.

Engine 1102 initiated deck gun operations which helped with an initial knock on the fire and allowed for crews to reenter the primary fire building. Interior crews battled through heavy smoke and fire conditions as well as a partial collapse of the second level floor.  As more units arrived, they worked to ensure the neighboring residences' fire damage was confined to the exterior.

With six attack lines and two deck guns (Engine 1102 & Ocean City Fire Boat 2), crews were able to successfully extinguish the fire and remained on scene for an extended period of time completing overhaul.

The scene was turned over to the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office for further investigation.

Please remember that working smoke detectors save lives and detectors need to be replaced every 10 years. Unsure of the age of your detectors? Just remove them from the wall or ceiling and look at the back of the alarm for the date of manufacture.

The OPVFD would like to thank all of our neighboring departments who assisted us today on scene as well as covered our stations during the incident.

NOTES:

• One firefighter sustained injuries and was transported to Atlantic General Hospital; we are happy to report that they have been treated and released.

• The Red Cross is actively working with the family that has been displaced and an online fundraiser has been set up to help the family.

Units on Scene: Ocean Pines Engine 1101, 1102, Special Ops 11, Command 11, 1100 A2 & A3, FP 11 as well as apparatus from Berlin, Showell, Ocean City, and Bishopville Fire Departments, Ocean Pines Police Department, Worcester County Sheriff's Office and the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office.

Photo credit: Samantha Widgeon & Joe Enste