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Dispatchers first received calls about the fire on Ridge Avenue at around 11:52 on Monday, Dec. 23, the Asbury Park firefighters union said in a Facebook post.
Asbury Park and Neptune firefighters initially responded but crews from Long Branch, Wanamassa, Tinton Falls, and Glendola were soon called to help.
"This fire proved to be stubborn but companies worked hard to contain and eventually knock down the fire," the firefighters union said.
Two residents were transported to the hospital for injuries sustained during the incident. Their conditions were not known as of Tuesday, Dec. 24.
Even as firefighters battled the Ridge Avenue blaze, additional emergencies unfolded across the city. Crews responded to a small fire at a sewer plant, a struck gas meter, and multiple fire alarms.
Allenhurst, Deal, and Sea Bright firefighters provided backup for Asbury Park crews.
"We truly appreciate the response by our off-duty members as well as our mutual aid departments that assisted today!" the union posted. "Great job by everyone involved today!"
Shortly after clearing the Ridge Avenue scene, city firefighters were soon called to help respond to a six-story vacant building fire on Third Avenue in Long Branch. Crews worked at that scene for about an hour before being released.
The blazes happened on a busy and bitterly cold day for Jersey Shore firefighters just before Christmas. A crew member was airlifted with a head injury and a multimillion-dollar waterfront home on Long Beach Island was destroyed in a fire early that morning.
The Ridge Avenue fire was also less than a week after 17 residents were displaced from the Vita Gardens Apartments at the corner of Atlantic and Monmouth avenues. The fire on Wednesday, Dec. 18 started on the first floor, spread rapidly through the three-story building, and drew mutual aid from the same neighboring departments.
The city continued to accept donations for the Vita Gardens victims at city hall and the Main Street firehouse through Friday, Jan. 3, 2025.
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