Large Brush Fire Along Parkway in Cheesequake State Park Under Control

The approximately 5-acre fire caused state police to close the right lane on the southbound side Thursday morning.

Flames and thick smoke could be seen billowing from Cheesequake State Park by Garden State Parkway commuters Thursday morning as a fire quickly spread through the brush. New Jersey State Police received a call around 9 a.m. alerting them of the fire near the guardrail on the southbound side of the Parkway near milemarker 122. About fifteen minutes later, officers closed the right lane while firefighters from Old Bridge, Laurence Harbor, Cheesequake and Sayreville worked to bring the approximately five acre blaze under control.  The traffic lane was reopened at about 10:30 a.m., according to state police, as fire departments finished up at the scene.  The New Jersey Forest Fire Service (NJFFS) also responded. Cheesequake State Park …

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Hurricane Sandy

STORM: Snow Brings New Outages For Some

Others have had no power at all for 10 days

Gov. Christie told a gathering on Long Beach Island on Wednesday that the coming Nor'easter and anticipated snowfall would likely cause "a setback" in the work underway for full power restoration. Boy, he wasn't kidding. JCP&L, on its website, is acknowledging that the nor'easter has created new outages, often for customers who were hit with outages in the height of Sandy's destructive path, had power restored and are now in the cold darkness yet again. "Late Wednesday, heavy, wet snow and high winds from the nor'easter resulted in approximately 120,000 additional power outages in the Jersey Central Power & Light service territory," says the JCP&L website. The company serves 13 counties in New Jersey, including Monmouth and Ocean. There …

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Fire Destroys Cliffwood Beach Home Sunday Night

The cause of the fire is under investigation at this time, officials say.

Fire ripped through the second-story bedroom of a Cliffwood Beach home Sunday night, only to rekindle and spread through the second floor of the house. According to Cliffwood Vol. Fire Co. Chief Joe Raymond, a fire on Sherwood Drive was reported to the department at about 9 p.m. on Nov. 4. Upon arrival, the fire department found a fire in a bedroom at the front of the house. The fire department was able to contain the fire to the bedroom and extinguish it. They used a thermal camera to check the structure for any remaining hot spots. According to Raymond, none were identified and no smoke was seen. "We were redispatched about 45 minutes later for a rekindling," he said. At about 10:30 p.m., the fire department returned to the seen to …

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Banana Boat Sunscreen Recalled Due to Fire Risk

The recall includes UltraMist Sport, UltraMist Ultra Defense and UltraMist Kids.

The manufacturer of Banana Boat sunscreen issued a voluntary recall on Friday of nearly half a million sunscreen products after five reports of people catching fire. The voluntary recall will pull 23 different varieties of UltraMist sunscreen off store shelves that run the risk of catching fire if exposed to open flames after applying, according to the manufacturer, Energizer Holdings Inc. "If a consumer comes into contact with a flame or spark prior to complete drying of the product on the skin, there is a potential for the product to ignite," Energizer's press release said. The company believes the issue is with the spray valve, which is larger than the average spray sunscreen bottle. Therefore, the aerosol bottle dispenses more …

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Buhler's New Car Dealership Site Plan Approved

At a special Planning Board meeting in Hazlet Thursday evening, Buhler & Bitter presented plans for a replacement building following the devastating May 26 fire.

Buhler & Bitter won a vote of approval from the Hazlet Township Planning Board for a new two-story modern structure accented with tall glass windows and polished aluminum as well as improvements to their longtime location on Route 35 South in Hazlet.  The Planning Board voted 8-0 to approve the final site plan, with agreement from Buhler to make some minor design and curb modifications in consultation by the township engineer. On Sept. 6, the adopt a resolution memorializing the decision. "We're very happy" said Garry Foltz, one of the owners, as the meeting ended. His father-in-law Don Buhler, who continues to have an active role in the firm, said, "We're pleased, we worked hard on this plan and we think it's an improvement."  The …

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Lightning Strikes Telephone Pole in Lincroft; Route 520 Closes

A telephone pole was struck by lightning, causing power outages in the Lincroft area and closing Newman Springs Road.

Lightning struck a telephone pole on Newman Springs Road in Lincroft at about 12:50 p.m. Monday, causing local businesses and traffic lights to lose power. The Middletown Township Fire Dept. responded to the fire and closed down part of the busy roadway, also known as Route 520, that extends from the Exxon gas station to the Lincroft Fire Co. building. Witnesses lined the streets and took video and cell phone pictures of the accident. Wendy Bennett, an ACME employee, captured the explosion on her phone as she stood outside ACME with fellow employees watching the fire. “We saw the pole on fire and it just continued to rise up the pole and then we just heard a loud explosion,” Bennett said. The road remains closed as of 1:43 p.m. and will be…

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JosephGhabourLaw

4:18 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012

Downed powerlines are no laughing matter. Despite urban legends, don't drive across live wires, and under no circumstances should you approach them.   more ›

Smoke Follows Lightning Strike at Historic Church St. Building in Matawan

Despite early fears the lightning caused the fire, officials say it started in a clogged dryer vent

An early evening lightning strike at the scene of an historic residential building along Church St. in Matawan brought frightened residents out of their homes and prompted a heavy response by fire, police and other emergency units Sunday. The incident was followed by reports of heavy smoke inside the building. No exterior damage to the former school building was visible and fire officials later said they believed the source of the smoke was a clogged dryer vent in the basement of unit four. The vent was resting on a wooden beam which was also began smoldering. "Every apartment had smoke in it," said Donald Mason, Deputy Chief of Matawan Borough Fire Department. A sign outside the sprawling white frame building notes its origins, in 1834, …

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After the Big Fire: Hazlet's Buhler Dealership Gets Back to Business

With the smell of charred metal still hanging in the air, the Buhler family, of Colts Neck, sold seven cars off the lot on Monday. They will officially reopen Wednesday at the nearby Remson dealership property on Route 35.

Don Buhler and his wife were on a bus in Prague on Saturday, part of a sightseeing vacation that would take them down the Danube River, when he got the call from his son, Darren Buhler, in Hazlet. "Pop, we got a problem," he recalls Darren saying.  "It looks like the dealership is gone to the ground. It's on fire." Don Buhler listened, stunned, as his son described the catastrophic fire in progress that engulfed the service area, and that would eventually require the demolition of the office, parts department and showroom by the day's end. Don Buhler knew the building well -- he was there the day it opened in 1968. A photograph hung in the showroom of his 24-year-old self, his father Robert "Bob" Buhler, and his uncle Clyde Essinson in …

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Hazlet Buhler Car Dealership Demolished After Fire Saturday

The busy dealership/service center that employed 40 people is now a pile of charred rubble. The owners say they will rebuild.

In less than a day, the busy Buhler Chrysler Jeep dealership where new and used cars have been bought and serviced for nearly 50 years was reduced to blackened metal, broken bricks, shattered glass and melted car parts. An early morning fire on Saturday caused so much damage that the building was considered a total loss, said Darren Buhler in the parking lot on Saturday night. Although it is believed the fire began in the service area of the building, an official cause for the fire has not yet been determined. It is under investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's office. About 40 people work for Buhler at the Hazlet location. They also have an auto dealership in Eatontown. On Sunday morning, employees at the fire scene were busily …

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