CRYSTAL ICE-BRIDGETON, LLC VS. CITY OF BRIDGETON, ET
AL.
A-1687-11T1
In affirming summary judgment to various municipal
defendants and a private contractor, we analyzed whether a
property owner was entitled to notice before the contractor
demolished the remainder of the owner's fire-damaged building.
We concluded that the notice requirements contained in N.J.A.C.
5:23-2.32(b)(2) and the summary hearing safeguards provided in
N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.5(f)(2) were inapplicable because the municipal
fire chief, acting pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:14-54.1, had "sole
authority" to direct the ongoing fire operations, including the
demolition of the building, in order to protect the lives and
property endangered by the fire, and he had not yet declared the
fire to be out. We also ruled that the municipal defendants,
and the private contractor who acted at their direction, were
immune from liability in these circumstances pursuant to the
Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 to 12-3. 11-13-12
