Friday night’s multi-alarm blaze along Ocean Grove’s Main Avenue ravaged a number of apartments and business just two blocks from the oceanfront.
As of late Friday night, officials had assessed damage to four shops and 7 apartments. The businesses included Village Kloset, Yvonne’s Café, Smuggler’s Cove, Fusion Jewelry and Barbaric Bean Coffee Roasters, Mayor Mary Beth Jahn said. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“We had quite the scare,” Jahn said Saturday morning. “It hurts to lose a building like this in the middle of our main street but thankfully there was no loss of life or major injuries.”
Three firefighters sustained minor injuries, one from a slip on the ice that caused injury to his leg, and another had chest pains, she said.
According a Neptune Township Police Department press release, the blaze broke out at 3:27 p.m. at 50 Main Avenue.
Residents and shopkeepers were quickly evacuated but the fire destroyed the multi-use structure causing its roof to collapse. Jahn said firefighters were able to cannon the roof to ensure the collapse remained within the building’s frame as opposed to the sidewalk and street.
A home at 53 Heck Avenue also sustained damage after the fire spread to its attic area.
The three-story structure will be razed and the surrounding homes and business will be inspected, Jahn said.
“We haven’t been able to get into the Barbaric Bean yet because there was only a two-inch clearing between the buildings,” Jahn said. “Because the building will be razed, we’ll have to rely on eyewitness accounts to determine what happened.”
She said there is no definitive word yet on a number of missing pets, including a dog, snake, and a turtle.
All seven Neptune Township and Ocean Grove Fire Departments responded to the scene and had the fire contained within a couple hours, officials said. Fire Departments from 14 other agencies responded to assist with the blaze and provide base support.
Six of the seven one bedroom apartments within the structure were rented out at the time, officials said. But it is unclear how many people were home or in the businesses when the fire erupted.
Jahn said the Salvation Army was on hand to help residents find temporary housing.
“We’ve been hard in the past few years, with [Superstorm] Sandy, and the two [Ocean] Pathway fires,” Jahn said. “We have a lot of people here who are of modest means but if there is one thing I’ve learned is that this is a community that takes care of its neighbors. There will be people that will help them try to get back on their feet and try help them get back into some sense of normality.”
The fire is being jointly investigated by the Neptune Township Police Detective Bureau, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Monmouth County Fire Marshal.
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