Barnegat Light, NJ restaurant evacuates wedding reception fearing building collapse

BARNEGAT LIGHT — A wedding reception had to make a last-minute change of plans after the venue's second floor buckled under the weight of its attendees.

The Barnegat Light fire department and other first responders were called to Daymark restaurant before 8 p.m. Saturday evening. According to the local first aid squad, callers initially reported a building collapse.

In an update Sunday, the fire department said on social media that the restaurant was still standing. However, there was a possibility that part of the building could have come down if people were not evacuated.

"The floor did not collapse, but caved in resulting in the structure being unsafe for the meantime," the fire department said. "The DJ did an excellent job of announcing to all patrons to safely exit the building after hearing the rumble noise."

MidJersey.news reported that around 200 people attending a wedding reception were evacuated. There were no reported injuries.

Posts on Facebook gave more insight into the situation.

"I was one of the bartenders at Daymark tonight the ceiling did not collapse there was a floor joist that snapped causing the ceiling to be vulnerable to collapsing and everybody was told to leave the building to be sure everybody’s safety," Diego Guzman said in a comment.

"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," Alex Keoskey posted in the Everything Lbi Facebook group.

New Jersey 101.5 has reached out to Daymark for comment.

Rick Rickman is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at richard.rickman@townsquaremedia.com

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