2 Fires In Ocean City Area, 1 Leaves Occupants Homeless

Two fires blazed in the Ocean City area on Sunday, including flames that destroyed a Marmora home, officials said. A second fire took place Sunday night at the McMahon Insurance Agency building on 901 Simpson Ave., according to officials.

Sunday afternoon in Marmora, officials received reports of a working fire with possible occupants entrapped in a home at 34 South Shore Road, across from Wawa, according to the Marmora Volunteer Fire Co. Firefighters found intense burning on both floors of the home and two vehicles behind the building, as well as cracked windows from intense heat in three surrounding buildings.

However, an unknown good samaritan placed a ladder on the second floor to help the entrapped family escape, MVFC said. A construction worker across the street provided the ladder, according to a GoFundMe for the family whose home was destroyed.

Phil Sorento and the home's occupants are now homeless and have lost every possession, including vehicles, besides the clothes on their backs, according to Natalie Kraft, Sorento's sister who started the GoFundMe.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the fires upon arrival and searched the home for any potentially trapped individuals, MVFC said.

The Ocean City Firefighters Association also reported a fire at 901 Simpson Ave., the building for McMahon Insurance Agency. Firefighters went to the scene after a reported alarm in an elevator shaft, officials said.

Officials found light smoke on the first floor and heavier smoke condition on the second floor. The smoke came from near the bottom of an elevator car, and firefighters extinguished a small fire, according to authorities.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials said. A voicemail for the agency Monday morning said their office is currently closed because of smoke damage.

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