NJ first responders partially close Route 35 in Wall during fire at local art gallery

WALL - A fire at the O.P.I. art gallery on Route 35 on Friday afternoon forced authorities to divert southbound traffic on the state highway for about two hours, according to township police.

The blaze was reported at 2:48 p.m. by a passing motorist who saw smoke coming from the one-story complex, said police Capt. Chad Clark, a department spokesman.

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The first police officers on scene observed the fire inside the building. The extent of the damage to the structure was not immediately known. An existing message on a website for the business reports: “We are retiring in Spring of 2024.”

“The cause of the fire appears to be accidental, currently,” Clark said. “The Wall Township Police Department and the Wall Township Fire Bureau are investigating it.”

Fire companies from Wall districts 1, 2, and 3 responded, in addition to firefighters from Manasquan, Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Brielle, Belmar, Sea Girt and Point Pleasant Beach, he said.

First responders from Wall Township Emergency Medical Services were also on scene and the state Department of Transportation’s Emergency Response Team arrived and diverted the traffic from Route 35 southbound, according to Clark.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ first responders partially close Route 35 in Wall during fire at local art gallery