BARNEGAT LIGHT – A wedding reception had to change plans at the last minute after the venue’s second floor caved in under the weight of its attendees.

The Barnegat Light Fire Department and other first responders were called to the Daymark restaurant before 8pm on Saturday evening. According to the local first aid team, the callers first reported a building collapse.

In an update Sunday, firefighters said on social media that the restaurant was still standing. However, it was possible that part of the building had collapsed if people had not been evacuated.

“The ground did not collapse, but collapsed, which made the structure unsafe for now,” the fire department said. “The DJ did a great job announcing all patrons to leave the building safely after hearing the rumble.”

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

Posts on Facebook gave more information about the situation.

“I was one of the bartenders at Daymark tonight, the ceiling didn’t collapse, there was a floor joist that broke which made the ceiling vulnerable to collapse and the whole everyone has been asked to leave the building to be sure of everyone’s safety,” Diego Guzman said in a comment.

“I just had dinner at Daymark in BL while a wedding was happening upstairs. I don’t know what happened but the ceiling in the restaurant started collapsing and everyone was rushed very quickly”, posted Alex Keoskey on the Facebook group Everything Lbi.

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 [email protected]

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