The Gazette of Really Small News

Merchandise mingles with heaps of charred lumber, siding, and other debris that was once part of the North End Pavilion in Ocean Grove. Officials today said that the cause of the April 13 inferno remained under investigation, though it is believed to have started under the east side of the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Kaan Williams of the township police department at 732-988-8000, or Detective Patrick Petruziello of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office at 732-431-7160. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News

Spectators watched from under the Asbury Park Arcade as the remains of Ocean Grove's North End Pavilion were razed Sunday, April 14. The pavilion was devastated the day before by a five-alarm fire that summoned responders from around Monmouth County and as far north as Union County. Investigators believe the fire began under the boardwalk at the east side of the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe. (Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

The fire that led to the destruction of the North End Pavilion in Ocean Grove last weekend began under the boardwalk on the east side of the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe, officials said. "The area of origin is an area where homeless have resided in the past," the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement posted on social media. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation, the prosecutor's office said. Anyone with information is asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Detective Patrick Petruzziello or Kaan Williams of the Neptune Township Police Department, 732-988-8000.

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A firefighter trains a hose on the crawl space under Dunes Boardwalk Cafe on the north end of the Ocean Grove boardwalk Saturday, April 13. A fire that began in the pavilion Saturday  morning was said to be contained but erupted in a fireball in the afternoon, gutting the restaurant and several small stores that were part of the pavilion. The cause of the fire is under investigation, although authorities reportedly said the fire began under the cafe and spread up and into the building. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Demolition of the pavilion on the north end of the Ocean Grove boardwalk continued Sunday afternoon. There is as yet no official cause given for the April 13 fire that destroyed the building, which housed assorted small eateries and retailers, although some reports say the fire began beneath the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe and spread up into the building. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Firefighters continued to put water on Ocean Grove's North End Pavilion Sunday morning as the remains of the landmark structure were being torn down. According to media reports, county officials think the fire that  ravaged the building the day before began under the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe, an enclosed food court on the boardwalk. The pavilion was also home to several small clothing retailers and was slated to open for the season in mid-May.

Clouds of smoke partially conceal still-burning remains of Ocean Grove's North End Pavilion Saturday, April 13. Officials said the cause of the fire is under investigation. The five-alarm blaze damaged the boardwalk and claimed the Dunes Boardwalk Cafe and several small shops only six weeks before the Memorial Day weekend.

Hundreds of firefighters from Monmouth County converged on the Ocean Grove boardwalk Saturday, April 13 at what began as a smokey fire at the North End Pavilion. The fire was said to be contained but revived in a fireball hours later. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Bits of Ocean Grove's North End Pavilion smolder in the night Saturday, April 13, hours after fire ravaged the building, home to Dunes Boardwalk Cafe and several small stores. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Firefighters continued into the night to pour water on the smoking remains of Ocean Grove's North End Pavilion, hours after lames destroyed the building, home to Dunes Boardwalk Cafe and several small stores. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Fire bursts through the roof of Dunes Boardwalk Cafe late in the afternoon Saturday, April 13 after gutting stores to the left of the popular summer restaurant. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)

Only six weeks before Memorial Day weekend, a major fire has devastated Ocean Grove's north end pavilion, taking a popular seasonal eatery and several small stores. The blaze Saturday, April 13, reportedly began in Dunes Boardwalk Cafe late Saturday morning, was contained by early afternoon but flared up shortly after 2 p.m. in what one witness described as a fireball. No injuries were reported. Fire departments from around Monmouth County and as far north as Union County responded to the five-alarm conflagration. The pavilion was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 and rebuilt and reopened by 2015. (Photo: Gev Sweeney/The Gazette of Really Small News)