LACEY-On Wednesday, September 5, 2018, at 8:54 am, a structure fire was reported at Caffrey’s Tavern located at 440 South Main Street (aka Route 9). Lacey Township Police Department and multiple area Fire Departments were dispatched to suppress the fire. Upon their arrival, they found heavy smoke coming from the restaurant’s roof. The fire developed rapidly and spread through the roof system causing damage to the entire structure.
There were no injuries to any Tavern employees. One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion at Toms River Community Hospital. The three-alarm fire was under control by about 11:30 a.m., and fire personnel then began working inside the structure putting out pockets of fire.
Once the structure was deemed safe to enter by fire officials, a scene examination and investigation was conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department CIU, OC Fire Marshal’s Office, State Fire Marshal’s Office and Lacey Township Detective Bureau to learn the cause and origin of the blaze.
The origin of the fire was located along the West wall of the kitchen on the stove top. The cause of the fire is accidental.