- Author
- Kyte, G. | Lemoff, T. C.
- Title
- Bayview Restaurant Fire, Seaside Park, New Jersey, July 30, 1985. Summary Investigation Report.
- Coporate
- National Fire Protection Assoc., Quincy, MA
- Journal
- Fire Command, Vol. 53, No. 2, 32-36, February 1986
- Keywords
- restaurants | occupants
- Abstract
- Shortly after 7:00 p.m. on July 30, 1985, a fire erupted from beneath a steam table in the main dining room of the Bayview Restaurant in Seaside Park, New Jersey. Between 75 and 80 patrons were in the room of fire origin at the time. All of them, including employees and two occupants of the second floor, narrowly escaped. Upon fire department arrival, flames were coming out of window openings and an adjacent two-story residential unit was beginning to burn. Fire fighters successfully provided exposure protection and extinguished fires in the adjacent residence. A large part of the restaurant, however, received heavy fire damage before final extinguishment. The Ocean County fire marshal has determined that the fire was caused when a flexible metal hose that connected a 20-pound LP-Gas cylinder to the steam table failed, allowing LP-Gas to escape. Ignition quickly followed, producing intense flames which spread rapidly to adjacent combustible interior finish within the dining room. NFPA 58, Standard for the Storage and Handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gases, with minor exceptions, prohibits the use of LP-Gas cylinders inside buildings. This incident clearly demonstrates the extreme hazard that improper use of LP-Gas can pose to life and property, and the importance of complying with the provisions of NFPA 58.