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July 31, 2026

Fire victim airlifted from Ocean City Friday

Firefighters responded to boat on fire on a trailer on Bay Avenue

OCEAN CITY – A burn victim was airlifted to the Jefferson Burn Center in Philadelphia Friday afternoon, May 8, after Ocean City firefighters responded to a boat on fire on a trailer parked in the city.

According to Ocean City Fire Chief Bernard F. Walker, the Department of Fire & Rescue was dispatched around 1:11 p.m. to the 3200 block of Bay Avenue for a report boat fire with a potential burn victim.

He said department personnel confirmed a significant fire involving a boat on a trailer parked along the roadway, as well as one individual requiring advanced life support medical care for significant burn injuries. 

Members of the department’s B Platoon quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the boat of origin, he said. The fire didn’t spread to nearby structures. 

The patient was treated on scene by Fire Department and Police Department personnel before being transported by ambulance to the Ocean City Municipal Airport. From there, the patient was airlifted to the Jefferson Burn Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center, for further treatment.

The origin and cause of the fire are not believed to be suspicious and remain under investigation by the Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office.

The condition of the patient at the burn center was not immediately known.

– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff

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