A fire broke out at a building that houses two restaurants in the Historic Fish Alley neighborhood in Sea Isle City on Wednesday evening.
The fire occurred at 4210 Park Road, where there are the adjoining restaurants Casa Taco and Casino Pizza.
Sea Isle City Public Information Officer Katherine Custer said the fire began around 5 p.m. and that it was contained in about an hour.
“At this point, the fire appears to be out and we have no injuries reported,” she said at 6:30 p.m.
Custer said that Casa Taco was open at the time of the blaze, but not Casino Pizza.
Black smoke billowed out of the roof of the building and flames shot out of the structure, Custer said, noting that it was a “smoky fire.”
Park Road was closed to traffic while fire crews battled the blaze.
“As a safety precaution, our police department evacuated the adjacent buildings,” Custer said.
The Sea Isle City Volunteer Fire Department had assistance from neighboring fire departments, including Ocean City, Strathmere, Marmora, Ocean View, Avalon and Upper Township.
Custer said that the cause of the fire is under investigation and that typically the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office and fire investigators take over.
There was no immediate word on the extent of the damage to the building.