Hundreds evacuated from Atlantic City, New Jersey, high-rise building fire: "It's organized chaos"

No one was seriously injured after a four-alarm fire broke out at a high-rise building in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Wednesday morning, officials said.

Chopper 3 flew over the firefight at the Brighton Towers condo building on the 2800 block of Atlantic Avenue. The fire broke out around 5 a.m., according to Atlantic County dispatchers.

"I hear like banging there's a fire there's a fire and I started panicking," Rahi Shazna, who lives on the 12th floor with her family, said.

"Immediately, I was wondering if anybody was trapped, but ultimately thinking, is everybody all right?" Shane Cogossi, who lives on the 13th floor, said.

Cogossi said when he heard the fire alarm and sirens getting closer to his condo building, he woke up his roommate, got his dog and made his way down the stairs, which started filling with smoke.

"A lot of people in the hallway, first responders, police, they were knocking on doors and they were helping people get down, so a lot going on," Cogossi said.

A police officer was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and was released. Five residents were evaluated by medics, officials said in a news conference. Despite difficulties navigating the crowded, aging building, responding firefighters were able to get everyone out safely.

That was no easy feat, since Brighton Towers has many residents with mobility issues who couldn't get themselves out, Deputy Atlantic City Fire Chief Paul Hess said.

In some cases, firefighters were going room by room ensuring they were clear, and would find people sitting in smoke-filled rooms unable to leave, Hess said. Firefighters would then take those residents out onto balconies for some fresh air before bringing them back through the building and down several flights of stairs.

"It takes a bit of coordination, it's organized chaos, but it's what we prepare for and train for," Hess said.

The 13-story high-rise has about 168 units, and there could have been as many as 350-400 people in the building, Chief Scott Evans said.

There are also no sprinklers in most of the building, except for the common areas on the first floor, Evans added.

The preliminary information from the scene shows the fire started in an occupied unit on the eighth floor and spread from there. The occupant of that unit was not there when firefighters arrived, Evans said.

Crews then got to work trying to prevent the flames from spreading up and out from that unit. There was heavy smoke on floors 8-12 and water damage down to the fourth floor, Evans said.

At least 12 units will not be able to be occupied after the firefight. There are interior hallways and walls that are damaged, Evans added.

Video filmed on Atlantic Avenue showed flames shooting from a window on an upper floor.

The scene is close to the Tropicana hotel property, but there are no known impacts to the Tropicana at this time.

Atlantic City opened up a courtroom building for residents to come take shelter after evacuating from the building. The American Red Cross assisted 10 residents and said they are arranging to meet with more families impacted by the fire.