Fires damage two stores
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN - Beauty took a beating in Manalapan this week.

One fire resulted in the destruction of a Route 9 spa while a second fire caused minor structural damage and second-degree burns to a person working at a nail salon that is under construction on Union Hill Road, according to police reports of both incidents.

Just before 1 a.m. March 29, police received a call reporting smoke at a location on Route 9. According to a report of the incident prepared by Patrolman William Cytryszewski, a search of the Design Center strip mall determined there was an ongoing structural fire at the Avanti Salon and Spa, 345 Route 9 South.

Cytryszewski's report states that the source of the fire was determined to have been at a nail drying station. The fire then spread throughout the building.

Investigators had not yet been able to determine whether the nail drying station was faulty or whether it had been left on after the salon closed.

It took responders from several area fire departments more than three-and-a-half hours to completely extinguish the blaze.

The matter is pending the final disposition of the Monmouth County Fire Marshal.

Avanti Salon and Spa manager Stacey Berlin said the owner of the business plans to rebuild at the same location. Berlin said until the reconstruction is completed, she will be working to develop agreements with salons in the area that will provide use of their facilities so that Avanti's staff will be able to continue to service their clientele.

Three days earlier, a fire broke out at the Rainbow Nail Salon, 345 Union Hill Road, in the Wawa strip mall. The salon is under construction. Police responded to the scene just before 11 a.m. March 26 to find that a fire had started, but had been extinguished by a worker on the scene.

According to a police report prepared by Lt. Lloyd Drucker, officers arriving at the scene determined that the fire was the result of a plumber soldering in a laundry room when some lint caught fire.

The fire began to spread but was quickly extinguished by the plumber and a member of the Manalapan Fire Company No. 1, Millhurst, who was in the area and responded to the scene. Although the two men were able to put out the fire using fire extinguishers and buckets of water, they did sustain minor injuries.

According to police, the injury to the fireman was a result of the dry-chemical fire extinguisher substance getting into his eyes, while the plumber received second-degree burns to his forehead. Both men were treated at the scene and refused further medical attention, according to police.

Although damage to the exterior of the building was minimal, police evacuated the entire strip mall for about 45 minutes until the building was deemed safe to re-enter.

Firefighters from the Gordons Cor-ner Fire Company, Manalapan, and the Robertsville Volunteer Fire Company, Marlboro, responded to the scene, as did volunteers from the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad.

Monmouth County Deputy Fire Marshal Rick Hogan determined the cause of the fire to be accidental.

The Manalapan police officers responding to the scene and responsible for the investigation were Patrolman Charles Mazzatto and Detective Thomas Mantle.