Fire at Brick Nursing, Rehab Facility Quickly Extinguished

Police Lights (Photo: Jason Rojas/Flickr)

A working sprinkler system is being credited with keeping an early morning fire small enough to extinguish quickly at a nursing and rehabilitation facility in Brick Wednesday morning.

Police and firefighters were called to the Meridian Nursing and Rehabilitation building on Jack Martin Boulevard at about 4:40 a.m. Wednesday, said Kevin Batzel, director of the Brick Township Bureau of Fire Prevention. A staff member at the facility called 911 after noticing a smoke condition in the basement near a number of commercial dryers, he said.

“A single sprinkler head that activated in the room kept the fire so small that the firefighters were able to extinguish it,” said Batzel, crediting the sprinkler system with keeping the fire to such a minimum that there was no need to evacuate the building.

---

Get Brick News Updates Daily Your email address:* Please enter all required fields Correct invalid entries

“We did not have to evacuate the building, although EMS was on location and were ready to start the procedures if they had to,” said Batzel.

All four of Brick’s fire companies responded, along with the Point Pleasant Borough fire company. There were no injuries reported, and facility remained open Wednesday after firefighters ventilated the building and recharged the sprinkler system.

Batzel said the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.