Township firefighters outside the food court entrance at Voorhees Town Center on April 19.
The Voorhees Town Center has partially reopened after a two-alarm fire that caused significant damage to its food court and surrounding areas on April 19.
Township offices have resumed operations, but large sections of the mall – including its interior spaces – remain closed to the public, secured behind yellow caution tape. There were no injuries.
The fire reportedly started in a vacant area next to an operating food court eatery and quickly spread to concealed spaces behind walls and ceilings, including a service corridor above the food court, according to the township fire department.
The blaze – reported at about 5:30 p.m. – prompted an immediate evacuation as firefighters battled heavy smoke that spread throughout the mall and required assistance from a Camden County specialty unit to ventilate the building, according to Fire Capt. Tom O’Brien.
The fire remains under investigation by the county fire marshal’s office. Town Center management took to Facebook to communicate with the public and mall tenants.
“Unfortunately, Voorhees Town Center suffered a fire on Friday evening,” said a post. “We are grateful to the Voorhees fire department for their quick response in helping to successfully evacuate the mall and contain the damage to the food court.”
While the interior spaces of the mall are closed, shops with external entries have resumed business, including Boscov’s, Modax and Growing Smiles. Township offices briefly relocated operations to Camden and the county store was closed for a week, but both are in operation again.
“We plan to reopen the mall’s interior spaces when repairs are complete,” mall management posted. “Services have been restored and a thorough cleaning has taken place. We look forward to providing updated timelines as and when they become available.”
As the cleanup continues, soot and debris still linger in the mall, management added, which is why damaged spaces have yet to reopen. Security measures have also been heightened, with tenants requiring a security escort to access their spaces. Total damage to the mall is still being assessed.
Residents can look for updates on the town center’s social media.
