Trash truck damages well-known home in Cape May, NJ

The Elward House, a well-known property on Decatur Street in Cape May, was damaged Monday when a trash truck backed into the building.

Cape May firefighters were dispatched at 12:46 PM Monday to the home at 11 Decatur Street after a trash truck backed into the building and struck a utility pole.

Firefighters say the building suffered structural damage to the porch columns which threatened the collapse of the second and third-floor decks.

Workers brought in wood and supplies to help support the building and the three levels of the porch on the front of the home.

The work took about three hours to complete. There were no injuries to the people living in the multi-family home or to fire personnel.

Firefighters evacuated the occupants from the building and requested additional units from the U.S. Coast Guard Training Facility Cape May, West Cape May Volunteer Fire Company, and Cape May County Energy Services.

Crews from the Erma Volunteer Fire Company, Townbank Fire Company, and the Wildwood Crest EMS provided coverage for the island during the incident.

The Elward House has had its share of problems over the past 20 years.

In 2007, an electrical fire heavily damaged the home, with the heat of the wood structure getting so intense it blew out the windows on one side of the building.

During a particularly bad storm in April 2020, the roof and the top deck of the balcony were blown off the house.