Ceiling Caves in During LBI Wedding Reception, Guests Evacuate

A feared ceiling collapse during a wedding reception at a Barnegat Light restaurant sent 200 guests hurrying to leave the building Saturday night.

It was the height of the dinner rush Saturday at the Daymark restaurant on Broadway and Fourth Street when diners in the restaurant were told to evacuate because of structural problems caused by a wedding party on the second floor.

The Barnegat Light First Aid Squad posted on Facebook Saturday night about the incident...

Squad 12 along with multiple other agencies are on scene of a reported building collapse in the 4th street area of Barnegat Light. As of now there are fortunately no reported injuries and firefighters are working to secure the building’s structure at this time.

By Sunday morning, what had happened become more clear...

The Barnegat Light Vol Fire Co. #1 posted their assessment of the events on Facebook.

The floor did not collapse, but caved in resulting in the structure being unsafe for the meantime. The DJ did an excellent job of announcing to all patrons to safely exit the building after hearing the rumble noise....Also, congratulations to the bride and groom!

Alex Keoskey posted on Facebook's All Things LBI page saying he was in the restaurant at the time of the evacuation...

Just had dinner at Daymark out at BL while a wedding was occurring upstairs. Not sure what happened, but the ceiling in the restaurant began to collapse and everyone rushed out very quickly. Hoping no one was hurt. Police are on the scene now.

The Barnegat Light Vol. Fire Co. #1 said there were no injuries and thanked their fellow first responders for helping keep everyone safe in a potentially dangerous situation.

There was no immediate word on the condition of the Daymark restaurant structure.