OCEAN CITY, Md.- The Maryland Fire Marshal says the cause of a fire at "De Lazy Lizard" brew pub earlier this month is undetermined, however an electrical malfunction cannot be ruled out as a contributing cause. Ocean City Fire Department officials say four people were injured in the Feb. 10 fire that heavily damaged a building that houses a pub and several apartments.
Ocean City Fire Department officials said that shortly before 10 a.m. firefighters responded to a fire at De Lazy Lizard, located at 25 N. Philadelphia Ave. When firefighters arrived, they found fire coming from the interior of the building, which includes several apartments.
Marvin Johnson was inside when the fire started.
"I walked out, outside my door there was a fire extinguisher. I grabbed the fire extinguisher. I looked down the hall; the place was covered in smoke. You only had two feet to work with, so I crawled down on my knees and started kicking in doors and yelling, 'Fire!"
Arriving units learned that people were trapped inside the building, resulting in two immediate rescues. Firefighters battled the fire, which escalated to a third alarm, for over two hours. Shortly after noon, the fire department had the fire under control. Assisting the OCFD with the call were units from Berlin, Bethany Beach, Showell, Ocean Pines and Roxana. Additional fire department personnel from mutual agencies also assisted with calls in the district during the incident.
It was a good thing that Johnson acted quickly, because he said many people were still asleep.
"Get everybody out. That's it, You really are not thinking; you just making, knowing who's in what room," said Johnson. Because I do maintenance there, I know who's in rooms and it was early in the morning, so I know everybody's pretty much still in the building. You don't bother, you know, being polite and knocking on doors; you just kick the door in."
Johnson said he wasn't thinking about himself he was thinking about others.
"It was just one of those instincts things; you just do it. You don't really think about things like that; you just go ahead and do it," said Johnson.
Officials said three victims were treated on scene for non-life threatening injuries and later transported to area hospitals, including two members of the Ocean City Fire Department. One additional patient was treated and released on the scene. The initial damage assessment indicates that the majority of the fire damage was on the third floor, officials said.
Other eyewitnesses to the fire couldn't believe their eyes as they watched the nearly 85 year old building burn.
"It's terrible. I feel so sad for them because I volunteer down at Shephard's Crook, so I know a good amount of people that live in that building and they just completely lost everything. And it's just sad," said Carrie Chase of Ocean City.
Kevin Hall says he has worked at de Lazy Lizard for a few years and it pained him to watch the place burn.
"The brew pub, they've only been open two years and they've tried so hard to make it a great success in town and it really hurts."
The Route 50 bridge was closed for a short time because smoke from the fire reduced visibility.
Anyone with information regarding the fire is asked to contact the Fire Marshal's Office at (410) 289-8780.
