Woods fire injures two
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
11/21/2009

Two people were in critical condition last Thursday and 17 other residents were displaced after a three-alarm blaze gutted several units in The Woods condominium complex at the intersection of Kresson and Evesham roads.

Cherry Hill Fire Chief Robert Giorgio said a call came into the fire district at 2 a.m. Nov. 11, and trucks were on the scene within minutes. Overall, 50 firefighters helped fight the fire, which escalated into a three-alarm blaze before the fight was concluded.

The first units on the scene found well-advanced fire with flames showing through three windows, Giorgio said. He also noted that the fire was so well advanced that shortly after initiating interior operations, the second floor bedroom floor collapsed onto the first. Firefighters continued their efforts to control the fire before it spread to the adjoining units.

After arriving at the scene, firefighters from Ladder Co. 4 were told there were still two adults and two children located in the 16-unit building. Entering the blazing complex, an adult male was located just outside the first floor condominium and a second female victim was overcome inside the interior hallway. Firefighters moved the occupants to the front of the building where Cherry Hill Fire Department Emergency Medical Technicians started to treat the patients for burns and smoke inhalation.

Both, he said, experienced significant burn damage and smoke inhalation injuries. The two victims were later identified as Wayne Rile, 59, and Ruth Rabinowitz, 63.

They were transported to Cooper Trauma Center, stabilized, and then moved to Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia for further treatment. As of last Thursday both were listed in critical condition.

“We haven’t had a chance to interview them yet,” Giorgio said last week. “We found the children, they were already evacuated to a neighboring apartment, and they were safe. ”The origin of the blaze doesn’t look suspicious, Giorgio said, but the fire district needs to interview the two victims to find out why the fire company wasn’t notified until the fire was far advanced. The complex’s wiring, a space heater, and the smoke detectors are being investigated to see if they were in working order.

Most of the 16 units in the complex suffered burn, smoke or water damage. Eight units will likely have to be condemned, Giorgio said, and the remaining units will need repairs before their residents can come back.

Right now, he said there are 17 displaced residents.

“The blaze doesn’t look suspicious, but we will need to interview the victims,” Giorgio said. “We rescued several dogs during the night, but two cats were lost unfortunately.”