What to Know
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Firefighters responded to a two-alarm blaze at The Manor, an elite wedding venue in West Orange[hhmc]
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There were no immediate reports of injuries in the fire at the sprawling venue on Prospect Street[hhmc]
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The Manor has hosted more than 10,000 weddings in the last 60 or so years, according to its website[hhmc]
A two-alarm fire at a preeminent wedding and fine dining venue in New Jersey appears to be under control.
Firefighters responded to the blaze at The Manor, a sprawling estate on Prospect Avenue in West Orange that has hosted more than 10,000 weddings over its six decades in business, around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. Emergency radio traffic indicated flames tearing through the roof, though Chopper 4 over the scene showed no visible damage. At least three fire engines and other emergency response vehicles were evident at the scene; about a dozen firefighters were outside, Chopper 4 showed, and hoses snaked through the building's gaping front doors.
Management told News 4 Wednesday afternoon that the fire broke out in the facility's basement and that they hope to reopen by the end of the week. No weddings have been affected.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
The Manor was founded by a man named Harry Knowles; he opened the doors on New Year's Eve in 1956. At that time, it was just a three-room restaurant.
Now in its sixth generation of restaurateurs, The Manor has become one of New Jersey's most renowned wedding and fine dining venues, earning recognition from the New York Times as being "as close as one can get to perfection."
It has also received a wealth of awards, including more than two dozen Four-Diamond Awards from AAA. In 2013, it became "the first and only New Jersey restaurant" to achieve 25 of those awards in consecutive years, its website says.
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