HOWELL — Fire broke out at a small shopping plaza Wednesday morning. The incident that Route 9 for a short time.

This was the second fire at a New Jersey strip mall-style shopping plaza in the past two days.

Howell Fire Bureau Chief Robert Lewis said firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the roof of the Lanes Mill Plaza around 11:10 a.m.

All of Howell's fire companies along with several other departments were able to contain the fire to just one of the three businesses in the center.

Firefighters and police during a fire at the Lanes Mill Plaza in Howell 1/5/22
Firefighters and police during a fire at the Lanes Mill Plaza in Howell 1/5/22 (Howell police)
loading...

Crews were able to bring the fire under control within an hour, according to Lewis. No firefighters, store employees or customers were injured.

Route 9 was closed in both directions for a couple of hours but has since been reopened.

A State Farm insurance office, Lice Troopers and Sew 'n Style are all housed at the shopping plaza.

Roof of Green Hills shopping plaza in Parsippany after a fire
Roof of Green Hills shopping plaza in Parsippany after a fire (Parsippany Focus)
loading...

Help for businesses damaged by Parsippany fire

Elsewhere in the state, a fire on Tuesdat at the Green Hill Plaza on Parsippany Road  damaged several businesses.

GoFundMe pages to help two of the businesses recover from the fire.

"When I woke up this morning, I was ready to start the fresh year only to find out that my dream was burnt to ashes. Everything I worked for - all the equipment - was destroyed by fire and water... I am now back to point zero," Mia Lin, the owner of Beauty City Salon & Spa wrote on her page.

Several members of Inception Sports also started a page for owner RJ Cobb.

"Inception sports was a company started by RJ Cobbs which quickly became his livelihood and his pride and joy. RJ has always been there for his athletes both mentally and physically," the members wrote.

The cause of the Parsippany fire is still under investigation.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

New Jersey's smallest towns by population

New Jersey's least populated municipalities, according to the 2020 Census. This list excludes Pine Valley, which would have been the third-smallest with 21 residents but voted to merge into Pine Hill at the start of 2022.

Omicron impact on COVID cases in NJ

As the COVID-19 pandemic approaches its third calendar year in New Jersey, some things have stayed true (hand-washing, advice to vaccinate) while others have evolved along with the latest variant (less monoclonal antibody treatments, new at-home anti-viral pills).

How to get from Monmouth/Ocean to the Holland Tunnel without paying tolls

Sometimes even your GPS doesn't know the back way to certain places.

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM