Quick Actions Minimize Anchor Inn Fire Damage, Authorities Say

OCEAN GATE, NJ -- Quick actions by police officers and two unidentified people helped minimize a fire Sunday at the Anchor Inn restaurant in Ocean Gate, according to fire officials.

The Ocean Gate Fire Company in a Facebook post Sunday said the fire, which was reported just after 8 a.m., damaged the exterior of the dining room with “minimal damage to the adjacent interior.”

Firefighters from the Ocean Gate and Bayville fire departments extinguished the fire but the Facebook post said the fire had been mostly extinguished by the restaurant’s owner, police officers and the passers-by who assisted.

Ocean Gate Chief Geoffry Barger “found a heavy smoke condition and active fire on the exterior south side of the dining room” when firefighters arrived, the post said.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.

“Our sincere thanks to the Ocean Gate and Pine Beach Police Departments for their quick actions, and to the two unidentified gentlemen who stopped to assist before we arrived,” the post said.