A Butter Road home in Upper Township was destroyed as the result of a two-alarm fire late Friday morning, Oct. 27.
There were no injuries to the public or to responders. No information was immediately available about the cause of the fire, or about the house’s owner and whether the home was occupied at the time of the blaze.
The Marmora Volunteer Fire Co., Tuckahoe Volunteer Fire Co., Seaville Fire and Rescue and the Upper Township Division of EMS received a call at 10:50 a.m. on Oct. 27 reporting a structure fire at 303 Butter Road.
Firefighters arrived and were met with heavy smoke from all sides of the building, and a second alarm was requested, bringing the Ocean City Fire Department, Ocean View Volunteer Fire Co., Somers Point Fire Department, Strathmere Fire Rescue and Woodbine Volunteer Fire Co. to the scene.
Scullville Volunteer Fire Co., Dorothy Volunteer Fire Co. and Dennis Volunteer Fire Co. were called to cover empty Upper Township fire stations.
As firefighters battled the blaze a portion of a deck collapsed, and the second floor collapsed into the first-floor garage.
According to the Marmora Volunteer Fire Co. Facebook page, foundation cracks appeared, and a second-floor exterior wall was bowed inward, all indicating a total building collapse was imminent.
Firefighting operations were halted and the collapse zone expanded. The township’s construction official was called and declared the building an unsafe structure. An excavator was brought in to make the building safe to extinguish the fire and aid in the investigation.
The Cape May County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire. The State Police were also present. All units cleared the scene by around 6 p.m.
