Fire destroys restaurant near Jersey Shore house in Seaside Heights
By Phil Stilton
Photos by Phil Stilton
There was a situation of another kind on the north end of Seaside Heights tonight as a fire gutted the second floor apartment of the Casa Del Sol Mexican restaurant on the Boulevard, just one block west of MTV’s Jersey Shore house on Ocean Terrace. Thick smoke blanketed the northern part of the borough and the boardwalk, carried by a south wind as firefighters battled the blaze in intense heat and humidity. Emergency services personnel blocked off several streets around the structure fire and kept bystanders away from the blaze.
Seaside Heights Police and Fire Department were notified of the blaze by employees of the Casa Del Sol restaurant when they noticed the smell of smoke. Firemen from Seaside Heights Fire Company #44 arrived on scene and evacuated the restaurant. When the they arrived, they found the second floor apartment above the restaurant with a heavy smoke condition. Moments later, the apartment was fully engulfed.
Responding to the call were units from the Seaside Heights Fire Department, Lavallette Fire Department, Island Heights, Point Pleasant Beach, Seaside Park and the East Dover Fire Company of Toms River. Ortley Beach First Aid, Tri-Boro First Aid, Beachwood First Aid and Point Pleasant Borough First Aid also assisted Seaside Heights Police and Emergency Management personnel with the operation.
Assistant Fire Chief of the Seaside Heights Volunteer Fire Company Bill Rumbolo manned the bucket on the department’s fire ladder truck and doused the blaze with water from high above the fire. Three ladder trucks battled the blaze including two from Seaside Heights and the third from neighboring Lavallette.
Two firefighters were taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for heat related illnesses. Exhausted firefighters were given cold water and refreshments by first aid and emergency management volunteers. Making matters worse for firefighters was 91 degree temperatures with nearly an 80% humidity level with a light dull wind from the south, keeping smoke in and around ground level north of the fire.
By 7:30pm, the fire was brought under control and cleanup operations continued in the area well into the evening as an investigation was being conducted.
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Photo by Toms River Magazine. www.tomsrivernjonline.com.
Posted by Ocean County News
on Aug 8 2011. Filed under Fire & Safety, Headline News, Photos, Toms River Video.
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