BARNEGAT LIGHT – A wedding reception was forced to change plans at the last minute after the venue’s second floor buckled under the weight of its attendees.
The Barnegat Light Fire Department and other first responders were called to the Daymark restaurant before 8pm on Saturday night. According to the local first aid squad, callers initially reported a building collapse.
In an update on Sunday, the fire department said on social media that the restaurant was still standing. However, there was a possibility that part of the building would have collapsed if people had not been evacuated.
“The floor did not collapse, but collapsed, so the construction was unsafe for the time being,” said the fire department. “The DJ did an excellent job telling all visitors to safely exit the building after hearing the rumble.”
MidJersey.news reported that around 200 people attending a wedding reception were evacuated. There were no reported injuries.
Posts on Facebook gave more insight into the situation.
“I was one of the bartenders at Daymark tonight, the ceiling didn’t collapse, there was a floor joist that broke causing the ceiling to be in danger of collapsing and everyone was told to leave the building for everyone’s safety to ensure,” Diego Guzman said in a comment.
“Just had dinner at Daymark in the BL while there was a wedding upstairs. I’m not sure what happened but the ceiling in the restaurant started to collapse and everyone rushed out very quickly,” Alex Keoskey posted on the Everything Lbi Facebook group.
New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to Daymark for comment.
Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at [email protected]
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