1903 Ocean Grove (source: Blogfinger)

By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net

It was a Sunday night in the Grove when a raging fire broke out in the large Sexton and Tilton  livery and boarding stables located to the west of Main Street, near the entrance to Ocean Grove.

The NY Times reported the event as “an extensive conflagration.”

The Camp Meeting Association, usually quite rigid about its Sunday gate closures, made an exception to allow the firetrucks from West Grove and West Asbury Park to enter.

That night, there were balls going on in Asbury, and a huge crowd of A. Parkers watched the fire, including “hundreds” of women in their “ball costumes.”  The crowd could hear the cries of horses within, and it was so horrible that some women “swooned.”

Sixty six horses were inside along with 6 “hostlers” when the blaze began.  Thirty five horses were lost including one expensive race horse.  John Sullivan, the head stableman, was credited for heroism as he and his men tried to free the horses.

Sullivan was burned and “disfigured for life” as a result.

Fires were much more of a threat in 1894 than they are today in the Grove, but the huge fires in recent years have shown us that the risk continues due the construction and positioning of the historic homes in town.

You can do Blogfinger searches to read about such events as the Manchester Inn, the Warrington, and the Surf Avenue Hotel blazes.

I can recall hearing a talk by Scott Rasmussen of Ocean Grove whose home was among 5 totally lost during the March 13, 2010 Manchester Inn fire.  He spoke at an event honoring policemen and he told of an officer who saved his family’s life by racing into the home  to arouse the family.  That fire moved incredibly fast.  (see below.)

Manchester Inn fire captured by citizen photographer Ed Wyzykowski. Special to Blogfinger. March 13, 2010. ©

Today the Ocean Grove Fire Department is known for its incredibly efficient responses to fires in town.  They do the best they possibly can, and there has been no loss of life during any of the fires here in recent years.

–Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger