Cause of massive blaze that destroyed boardwalk cafe sought

Sunday, April 14, 2019
Fire breaks out at Dunes Cafe on Ocean Grove boardwalk
Naveen Dhaliwal has the latest.

OCEAN GROVE, N.J. -- Investigators are trying to determine what caused a massive fire Saturday that destroyed a building containing a popular restaurant on a Jersey Shore boardwalk.

Images showed smoke billowing out of Dunes Boardwalk Cafe at 4 North End Boardwalk in Ocean Grove, New Jersey.

Two firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. They are expected to be okay.

Monmouth County officials say there were six tenants inside of the building. The cafe is a seasonal business, and was expected to open May 18th. The tenants say thankfully, they do have insurance.

The sheriff says the building is on top of the boardwalk, which partially collapsed, causing part of the building to collapse. They say it is very likely that they will be tearing the building down after the fire.

Authorities said the blaze was brought under control but flared up again and smoldered overnight.

Dunes Cafe is just blocks away from the scene of a 2017 fire that gutted four buildings and damaged three others.