The Belford Seafood Co-op on Port Monmouth Road. (Google Earth)
BELFORD, NJ A massive brush fire broke out shortly after 12 p.m. Tuesday near the Belford Seafood Co-op and Belford Harbor marina, said Middletown fire spokesman Dennis Fowler.
Witnesses say the fire was up to 300 feet in length, and they watched in horror as boats, lobster pots and even entire trailers sitting in the marsh were consumed and destroyed by flames within seconds.
In total, two trailers, several boats and an estimated 200 lobster pots were destroyed by the fire, said Fowler. Two Middletown volunteer firefighters were injured fighting the blaze, one from heat exhaustion.