Suspicious Fire Burns Down Historic Battery Lookout

A fisherman advised rangers in the park’s Sandy Hook Unit of a fire at Battery Potter in Fort Hancock just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7th. The battery is a historic structure constructed of cement and is fireproof, but it has six lookouts, or spotters, that were constructed largely of wood in 1907. One of these spotters and its contents were lost in the fire, which was extinguished by the park’s fire brigade with assistance from Highlands FD. The circumstances of the fire are suspicious (there are no electrical or other ignition sources in the spotters) and an investigation is underway. The Monmouth County fire marshal is assisting. The battery was reopened for guided tours on Thursday.