A third shop, Barefoot Trading Co., in the same building, sustained smoke and other minor damage. The extent of structural damage to the building was unknown, officials said.
A miniature golf course next to Duncan's sustained minor damage. A section of the boardwalk's wooden planks between 11th and 12th Streets was scorched, and police closed that area of the boardwalk until the extent of damage is clear.
Sam Koperwas, who owns Henry's with Jeff Sherman, said the store had been planning to celebrate its 30th anniversary on the boardwalk this summer.
"Meet me at the clock" has become a familiar expression among both locals and tourists, who use the store's sign as a landmark for meeting friends and family after a stroll on the boards, Koperwas said.
"We hope to be back up and running as soon as possible, but we don't know how long the interruption will be," he said. "We're just grateful no one was hurt."
Seven young women were inside one apartment when the fire started but escaped. Friends and family of the operators, they had come to help with the candle store's opening.
Because the oceanfront is windy and public hydrants are often some distance away, boardwalk fires make shop owners and firefighters fearful.
"The biggest fear is that it's going to spread and spread," Foglio said. "You want to contain it as quickly as possible. Factor in wind and generally older structures with a lot of hidden pockets and you can have yourself a real problem."
He also said boardwalk weight limits restricted the kind of firefighting equipment that could be used.
Winds off the ocean yesterday were light, and more than 40 full-time and volunteer firefighters controlled the blaze within two hours of receiving the call. One firefighter sustained a minor injury, Foglio said.
He said investigators were on the scene for most of the day yesterday, trying to find a cause for blaze.
The most recent significant fires on Ocean City's boardwalk had occurred in August 1991, when Fisherman's Wharf, a shop near 10th Street, and two adjacent stores were gutted, and in June 1990, when a blaze destroyed the Village Theater at Eighth Street.
Contact Jacqueline L. Urgo
at 609-823-9629 or jurgo@phillynews.com.
