Wedding interrupted by fire at The Rockleigh banquet hall
ROCKLEIGH ― A wedding was put on hold when a fire broke out Thursday at The Rockleigh, a popular banquet hall and event space in the borough that shares its name.
Police from nearby Northvale responded at about 5:50 p.m. to a report of heavy smoke emanating from the palatial venue on Paris Avenue at the border between the two towns, according to a statement from Northvale Police Chief Howard Ostrow.
Upon arrival, responders found smoke filling the venue because of a fire that began in the boiler room but quickly rose to the second floor, he said.
The fire interrupted a scheduled wedding ceremony. That left attendees waiting two blocks away at Veterans Drive, milling near a caravan of SUVs in black suits and sequined dresses, hoping for word from officials as to whether the event would take place.
The fire was knocked down and under control in about 30 to 40 minutes, Ostrow said, and all guests and employees were evacuated safely. But two hours after the fire began, guests and family members were still outside, unsure if the ceremony was to be postponed.
Across the street from the pensive wedding party, diners at Biddy O'Malley's ate al fresco amid the swirling glow of emergency sirens as if nothing were happening.
Fire departments from Rockleigh, Northvale, Norwood, Closter, Harrington Park, Old Tappan, Demarest, Emerson, Tappan, N.Y., Piermont N.Y., and Sparkill, N.Y., responded along with EMS units from Northvale, Closter, Norwood, South Orangetown, N.Y., and other municipalities across North Jersey.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Rockleigh NJ fire: Wedding interrupted by Rockleigh banquet hall blaze
