The Ocean Casino Resort has filed a notice with Atlantic City that it blames the city’s fire department for $1.5 million worth of damages sustained after a small fire in July, when a burst pipe flooded part of the casino, forcing it to shut down for a day.

Here are five things to know about the situation:

Ocean Casino is accusing Atlantic City's Fire Department of causing $1.5 million in damage

Ocean Casino Resort plans to sue the city, alleging that firefighters mishandled a small fire on July 27, causing a pipe to burst and flooding parts of the property. The casino filed a notice of claim with the city on Oct. 13, alleging gross negligence and other misconduct. A notice of claim is a required legal step before suing a public entity in New Jersey.

The July fire started in a linen closet and led to major flooding

Firefighters responded to the casino at 5:31 a.m. after a fire was reported in a linen capture room. The blaze produced heavy smoke and burning debris. During firefighting operations, a significant water release flooded parts of the property, causing a large ceiling collapse in the lobby and water damage to elevator shafts, hallways and the casino floor. No one was injured.

The casino says the damage included hundreds of thousands of dollars in repair and engineering costs

Ocean's claim lists more than $100,000 in expenses already spent addressing the damage. Those costs include $488,613 in architectural and engineering fees, $49,345 to repair the lobby ceiling, and additional expenses for carpeting, ductwork, ceiling tiles and gambling equipment. The casino puts its total damages at approximately $1.5 million.

The incident forced the casino floor to close for a day and disrupted hotel guests

Ocean's gambling operations were shut down for a day while crews cleaned up and repaired the property. The hotel remained open, but the casino reported $59,602 in hotel cancellations and $23,668 in compensation paid to guests. Some visitors left early because of the flooding. At the time, the casino estimated it would lose at least $1 million in revenue from the shutdown.

The city and casino management are declining to comment on the pending litigation

Mayor Marty Small Sr., Fire Chief Scott Evans and Ocean Casino management all declined to comment. The casino's notice does not explain specifically what firefighters allegedly did wrong. When the property reopened, General Manager Bill Callahan praised the speed of the cleanup, saying crews reached the broken pipe within about 20 minutes.

This article was prepared with the help of AI technology using information collected and verified by journalists.

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