A massive five-alarm blaze which started early Friday morning destroyed a vacant hotel, gutted three houses and damaged two condominium complexes, The Marlborough and La Pierre, in Ocean Grove, as well as several other smaller single family homes, three of which burnt to the ground.
Smoke was visible for miles as it drifted across the eastern horizon about daybreak.
The plume of smoke from the fire was visible four miles away. Ash and cinders drifted the two blocks to the boardwalk.
By 9am on Friday morning, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church on Embury Avenue had established a facility where those displaced by the fire could go.
As is the case in these historic town, the potential of one building fire spreading to other structures in close proximity is a very real scenario. Back on the morning of March 13, 2010, The Manchester Inn was lost in a fire bolstered by high winds and driving rain in Ocean Grove early.
In Ocean Grove, the majority of homes are very susceptible to fire as most are over 100 years old, wood structures and are located very close to each other, sometimes separated by a few feet or a walkway.
If you have any questions about this information or title insurance, please contact Ralph Aponte: 732.914.1400.
Counsellors Title Agency, www.counsellorstitle.com, founded in 1996, is one of New Jersey’s most respected title agencies, serving all 21 New Jersey counties with title insurance, clearing title, escrow, tidelands searches, and closing and settlement services for commercial or industrial properties, waterfront properties and marinas, condominiums, townhouses or residential single family homes. Counsellors Title also features its own Attorney Settlement Assistance Program™ [ASAP], which is an individual resource customized to fit the needs specifically of real estate attorneys, including, Documentation, Preparation, Disbursement of Funds, Attendance at Closing, HUD Preparation or Post-Closing Matters.