Fire hits Atlantic City pier

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., Nov. 22 (UPI) -- A three-alarm fire gutted several stores Saturday evening on a pier off the Atlantic City Boardwalk on the Jersey Shore, fire officials said.

The fire began in or below a pizzeria on Sohiff's Central Pier, which reported the blaze just before 7 p.m., The Press of Atlantic City said. Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said the restaurant was in flames by the time firefighters arrived and the windows blew out in a single explosion.

Flames spread to two clothing stores and a photography shop. Brooks said white smoke would turn dark when the fire reached petroleum-based products, including stuffed animals, a phenomenon known as the "fireplace effect."

The wind was blowing out to sea, taking the smoke away from the Boardwalk and the casinos.

The Central Pier has been hit by many fires in the past. In May 2006 a fire that began in a mattress under the Boardwalk gutted two stores.