Surf City firehouse catches fire, knocks squad temporarily out of commission

SURF CITY — A "serious" fire Thursday night at Surf City Volunteer Fire Company No. 1's firehouse left one firefighter injured and caused "a great deal of smoke damage" to the firehouse, fire apparatus and ambulances, the squad announced on Facebook early Friday.

The damage left the firehouse out of service, with fire and Emergency Medical Services coverage in place from the Ship Bottom Volunteer Fire Co., High Point Volunteer Fire Co. and Barnegat Light First Aid Squad, officials said.

"An alert firefighter heard our fire siren sending a steady blast, which is our programmed alert indicator that the fire alarm system inside the firehouse has been activated," the squad wrote. "Fortunately the fire siren worked as designed, and when our investigating firefighter arrived from home, he found heavy smoke and flames inside the apparatus bay, and then called 911."

As members of the fire squad arrived, they used fire extinguishers from other parts of the building to hold the fire back while others pulled the firetruck out of the building. Rescue Engine 4913 was then manned and knocked down the rest of the fire with tank water, officials wrote.

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The Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office preliminarily determined the fire was accidental and caused by malfunctioning electrical equipment. One firefighter was treated for a minor injury at the scene.

"We would like to give a huge thank you to our mutual aid fire and EMS organizations that responded and assisted us tonight," the fire squad wrote. "We will be back up and running very soon!"

Ilana Keller: ikeller@gannettnj.com; Twitter: @ilanakeller

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Surf City fire: Firefighter injured, firehouse suffers smoke damage