A fire beneath the Seaside Heights boardwalk was quickly extinguished Sunday afternoon after workers and firefighters rushed to stop the flames from spreading. Authorities believe a discarded cigarette sparked the fire under the boardwalk near the Beachcomber Bar Restaurant. Smoking on the board walk is illegal. Workers at the Beachcomber immediately sprang into action when they noticed smoke and flames. “I just said, ‘Hey, get water, that was the most important thing right then,’” Beachcomber owner Michael Carbone said. Carbone said he first noticed signs of trouble coming from beneath the boardwalk. “I’d seen a little bit of flames. I’d seen smoke coming up from under the boardwalk,” he said. Workers began filling buckets with water and pouring it through the cracks in the boardwalk as the situation unfolded. “We slowly poured it through the cracks in the boardwalk,” Carbone said. Firefighters arrived within about two minutes, according to officials. “They went under this area here,” Seaside Heights Fire Department Chief Tim Farrell said. “Belly crawled under with a hose line around 10-15 yards underneath this area, soaked the whole area down.” The close call immediately brought back memories of the massive 2013 boardwalk fire that destroyed a large section of the Jersey Shore landmark. “And I was here for the fire back then and I just didn’t want a repeat performance,” Carbone said. Officials say smoking is strictly prohibited on the boardwalk because of the fire risk. “There’s zero tolerance on smoking on the boardwalk because of situations like this that could cause a devastating fire,” Farrell said. Farrell said dry conditions likely increased the danger. “We haven’t had rain in a long time, so you have that dry lumber and some debris that’s mixed in under there, and just ready to ignite,” he said. While the pressure-treated wood used for the boardwalk offers some fire resistance, officials said debris beneath the boards can easily catch fire. Carbone said the incident has already prompted changes at his business. “From now on, we’ll have a hose behind the counter, just so we don’t have to use buckets of water,” he said. Officials credited the rapid response by workers and firefighters with preventing what could have become another major boardwalk disaster. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less