By Chris Guy
The Baltimore Sun
 AP Photo/Chuck Snyder Firefighters battle the fire at the Dough Roller Pizza restaurant, Sunday, in Ocean City, Md. |
OCEAN CITY, Md. — Firefighters from more than 20 engine companies extinguished a blaze at a popular pizza restaurant in the oldest part of Ocean City’s boardwalk yesterday, successfully containing the worst fire damage to a single building.
The nine-alarm fire at the Dough Roller restaurant on the boardwalk at South Division Street initially panicked Ocean City officials, residents and holiday regulars. They worried that flames might consume nearby shops as well as the wooden boardwalk that is the symbol of summer to many Marylanders.
However, the quick response of firefighters, including some from southern Delaware, as well as favorable winds, prevented a fire disaster, according to officials.
A T-shirt shop next to the Dough Roller was damaged by flames, although not as extensively as the pizza restaurant. The fire also reached a nearby arcade, but that business was more heavily damaged by smoke and water, emergency officials said.
“As soon as you hear these [fire] calls, there’s a heightened sense of awareness,” said Capt. Steve Price, a spokesman for the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Department. “The makeup of these structures, the ease that a fire can spread, is always a concern to us.”
The fire, reported about noon yesterday, resulted in no major injuries, said Jessica King, a spokeswoman for the Ocean City Police Department. A firefighter was treated for a minor eye injury, she said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, she said.
Del. James N. Mathias Jr., who was mayor of Ocean City for a decade, was at the scene of the fire yesterday and said he was relieved that fire damage was not worse.
“We were fortunate,” he said. “There was a tremendous amount of team effort that came together.”
The original Dough Roller restaurant was founded in 1980 by Ocean City resident Bill Gibbs and his family. The Dough Roller that was burned by the fire, at South Division Street and the boardwalk, was Dayton’s Chicken until the family took it over several years ago. It is about a half a block south of Thrasher’s and Boog Powell’s barbecue restaurant.
Sunshine Beachwear, a T-shirt and beach clothing store, is located next door to the Dough Roller and sustained fire, smoke and water damage, emergency officials said.
Marty’s Playland arcade, located on the boardwalk at Worcester Street, reported some fire damage. Apartments above the arcade had some smoke and water damage, according to emergency officials.
Overall, the destructive force of the fire was limited to the Dough Roller, thanks in large part to a steady wind that kept flames from attacking the walls and rooftops of nearby buildings.
“The wind kind of helped us,” Price said. “It blew northeast to southeast, blowing the fire away from other structures.”
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