POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. - A fire early Friday destroyed a New Jersey shore motel that was housing people displaced by superstorm Sandy, killing four people and injuring eight, authorities said.
The blaze began at the wooden Mariner’s Cove Motor Inn in Point Pleasant Beach around 5:30 a.m., and flames were shooting out the building by the time firefighters arrived. At least one person leapt from a second-floor window to escape.
Three people were injured critically. Other injuries included broken bones.
The discovery of a fourth victim was announced Friday afternoon. Authorities said all remaining occupants had been accounted for.
The victims were all men, but the prosecutor’s office said no positive identifications had been made.
The cause of the blaze was unknown.
Investigators interviewed motel management and determined that about 40 people were staying there when the fire broke out, Ocean County prosecutor Joseph Coronato said. The motel’s office was destroyed and many records were lost, he said, making an accurate accounting difficult.
Firefighters climbed ladders to reach charred second-floor units and search through them. An aerial ladder also was used to maneuver a firefighter into position to peer into burned rooms.
Survivors described a chaotic scene of flames, smoke and screaming.
Peter Kuch said he smelled smoke and opened his door to find a lounge area aflame. He dialed 911, 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 inchand 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 the resort town, relies on people seeking low-cost rentals during the slow winter season. His home in nearby Brick Township took on 6 feet of water during the October 2012 storm, and the motel was the latest in a series of temporaryhomes 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 glow, 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 havesurvived those flames. The entire second floor was engulfed, from one end to another.”
That woman, who had sought refuge in a shower and kept the water running while waiting to be rescued, was pulled from the bathroom by one firefighter, who handed her out a window to another firefighter, who carried her down a ladder to safety.
The woman was taken to St. Barnabas Medical Center, a hospital about an hour north that specializes in treating severe burns, which Coronato said she had suffered.
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.”
Residents gave conflicting accounts of whether they heard the sounds of smoke detectors or fire alarms. 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.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 03/22/2014