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Steve Skipton
The blaze at the The Woods condominium complex in Cherry Hill seriously injured two people.
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Cherry Hill condo fire injures 2, leaves 17 homeless

A three-alarm fire ripped through a Cherry Hill condominium complex early this morning, seriously injuring two residents. The blaze also gutted four units, left 12 other units with smoke and water damage and displaced 17 other people.

The fire broke out about 2 a.m. at The Woods Condominiums, an upscale complex off Kresson Road in the eastern section of the township.

Flames shot from three windows as firefighter arrived, said Fire Chief Robert Giorgio.

"People on the scene were saying two children and two adults were missing so we immediately started searching the property," Giorgio said.

Rescuers found Wayne Rile, 59 suffering from smoke inhalation, but still conscious, in a foyer. Soon after they discovered Ruth Rabinowitz, 63, who had been overcome by smoke inside one of the apartments and carried her out, Giorgio said.

Medics treated both victims for burns and smoke inhalation at the scene. The pair were taken to Cooper University Hospital's trauma center and later transferred to Temple University Hospital's burn unit where they were reported to be in critical but stable condition, Giorgio said.

Firefighters found the two missing children with their parents inside a neighboring building.

Crews with hose lines surrounded the building as a second-floor bedroom collapsed into the first floor.

About 50 firefighters from Cherry Hill, Lawnside, Somerdale and Haddonfield placed the blaze under control in about 40 minutes, Giorgio said. No firefighters were injured.

"They worked hard to get the upper hand on this. You've got to give them a lot of credit," Giorgio said. "You can see where their training paid off. They were able to coordinate their efforts and they got away without getting hurt."

A fire marshal remained at the scene this morning investigating the cause and origin of the fire. The probe was focusing on a first floor bedroom, Giorgio said.


Contact staff writer Sam Wood at 215-854-2796 or at samwood@phillynews.com.

Comments   
Posted 12:50 PM, 11/11/2009
BillWJr
Somerdale misspelled in the article.
1 comments
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