Around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, a fire was reported at the Bed Time Inn on Route 50 in West Ocean City. The Ocean City Fire Department responded, as did the Berlin Fire Company to provide mutual assistance. The fire was brought under control quickly and less than a half an hour later, only smoke could be seen drifting from the roof of one of the older sections that runs perpendicular to Route 50.
Some firefighters were seen on the roof of the building with axes, picks and chainsaws, cutting holes in the structure presumably to ensure the blaze was out completely and to allow the smoke to dissipate. A Berlin firefighter on the scene said the fire started in the attic area of the old section of the motel and the source is believed to have been a faulty washer or dryer. However, the investigation is just underway and no further details are immediately available.
The fire caused the motel’s occupants to be evacuated and many were seen wandering in the parking lot or sitting on the curb watching the firefighters. The fire snarled midday traffic in the West Ocean City area as Route 50 was blocked east of Keyser Point Rd. Police and fire crews were directing beach-bound traffic down the south side of Keyser Point Rd. to Route 707 and then east to Route 611.
As an interesting aside, one family of five in a mini-van with Pennsylvania tags in a pharmacy parking lot asked this reporter how to get to the beach. The driver said the family had driven nearly eight hours to get to Ocean City and got caught in the massive traffic jam with several detours just about a mile from their final destination.
Story Courtesy Shawn J. Soper
News Editor of The Dispatch
1 comment:
Again, why are we blocking roads for every litte thing that involves a cop or a fireman. Unless the hydrants were on the west bound side this is pure garbage. That lot is big enough for even the SFD ladder truck :).
Post a Comment