At just around 8:20 PM on April 9, 2009, Cherry Hill Firefighters responded to a reported fire alarm activation at the strip mall located at 2099 Route 70 East. As the Battalion Chief arrived, he reported a heavy smoke condition from the front of the store and immediately ordered additional resources to the scene. First arriving crews on scene established a water supply and took positions in the front and the rear of the building.Firefighters forced entry into the hardware store and encountered a well advanced fire and heavy smoke. Multiple hose lines were used to fight the large volume of fire within the hardware store. Additionally crews on the roof used power saws to open ventilation points to relieve the heavy smoke and heat in an effort to better conditions for firefighters working below.
A 2nd Alarm was ordered to bring additional firefighters and equipment to the scene. In all, about 40 firefighters managed to place this fire under control in just over an hour. There was extensive damage to the hardware store and heavy smoke damage to a total of four stores. There were no injuries to civilians. One Cherry Hill Firefighter was taken to be evaluated at Virtua Hospital in Voorhees with non life threatening injuries. This fire is currently under investigation by the Cherry Hill and Camden County Fire Marshal Offices and Cherry Hill Police.
