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Fire officials in Hamburg, New Jersey, are investigating a fire that broke out in an abandoned warehouse on the grounds of the historic Gingerbread Castle. The fire started early Monday morning and took several hours for fire crews to control. The Gingerbread Castle, a 19th-century structure that was once part of a fairy tale-themed park, was not damaged in the fire, according to Hamburg Police Chief Jason Tangorra.
The warehouse is owned by Daoftre Capital Group, which also owns an adjacent strip of land. The Gingerbread Castle property has a different owner. At the time of the fire, the warehouse contained "several pallets of designer clothing," Tangorra said. The property is owned by a wholesale manufacturing business that sells accessories. The owners were granted permission to renovate the building to house overflow from the business in Wayne in August 2023.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Firefighters have been using drones to fly over the building, as hot spots and water have prevented crews from entering the structure. It is still unclear whether anyone was inside the building at the time of the fire. No injuries have been reported.
The site, located at 49 Gingerbread Castle Road, has a long history of housing various businesses. It was home to the National Biscuit Company in the 1930s, the Canterbury Milling Company in the 1940s, and the Plastoid Corporation, which operated a manufacturing plant until the late 20th century. The facility was abandoned for several years before Daoftre Capital Group purchased the property in 2021 reported the NJ Herald.