Early Morning Fire Damages Collings Ave. Home

An apartment fire in the 1000 block of Collings Avenue poured thick, black smoke into the overcast morning sky Wednesday, but no one was harmed in the incident.

Collingswood Fire Chief Keith Davis said the department responded to a radio dispatch to the location at 8 a.m., and arrived to discover heavy smoke from the third-floor window. Collingswood police had secured the scene.

The engine company forced entry into the building while the squad company supplied water, Davis said, and the fire was knocked down within 11 minutes. The building was unoccupied at the time of the incident, save for a cat, which was unharmed, Davis said.

The call drew additional respondents from the fire companies of Pennsauken, Bellmawr, Westmont and Gloucester City. The supporting units assisted in a search of the building for inhabitants, forcible entry to the property, overhaul, and means of egress, Davis said. 

The building contains three apartment units, only one of which was involved in the fire, Davis said. The other two suffered water damage as a result of battling the fire.

An arson unit from the Camden County Prosecutor's Office was also on the scene to conduct a routine investigation of the property.

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