Posted below you’ll find photos our organization took prior to the fire at the Carpet Land / Circle Shop building, alongside similarly positioned ones afterward. Following that is today’s Asbury Park Press article on the fire. The BHA will keep you posted on any new developments and information on how our residents can help the property owners and tenants recover from this unfortunate event.
Beachwood Fire Being Probed
Chelsea Michels
Toms River Bureau
Asbury Park Press – June 15, 2009
BEACHWOOD — Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that damaged a historical landmark on Route 9 Saturday night.
The Beachwood Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze at Carpetland shortly after 9 p.m., according to Chief David Petracca.
The fire spread through the top floor, which contains apartments, fire officials said. Two families were displaced, according to Petracca, who said he believed the the business, on the bottom floor, is currently closed.
Petracca said the cause of the fire is under investigation by the Ocean County Fire Marshal, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Beachwood Police Department.
“Everybody did an excellent job and the damage was kept to a minimum,” he said, adding that one firefighter suffered minor injuries but the residents were unharmed.
He said due to the type of occupancy, several fire companies from the surrounding area responded to the fire.
According to members of the Beachwood Historical Alliance, the structure was built in the late 1920s and was originally the Beachwood Circle Inn, which formed a circular intersection with the other buildings on each corner.
It became the Beachwood Circle Shop in the 1930s, and “enjoyed prominence as the cultural hub of the local community, from Berkeley to Beachwood to Toms River,” according to the Alliance.
During World War II, many servicemen gave their military photographs to then-proprietors, F. Steven and Florence Demor, who hung them in the window for passing residents to see.
The Circle Shop changed hands in the 1950s, and continued operation until the late 1960s when it became Carpetland.
On Dec. 26, Rite Aid had submitted a proposal to the borough Planning Board to build a Rite Aid Pharmacy over the Beachwood Circle Shop/Carpetland site and surrounding area. According to the historical alliance, application fees were never paid by Rite Aid, causing speculation that the corporation has discontinued their interest in the site.
