TOMS RIVER – A house fire that broke out in the early hours of Monday morning has injured the occupants as well as firefighters, officials said.
Around 3:20 a.m., police and fire units responded to a home on Kettle Creek Road regarding a structure fire. First responders found the front of the home covered in heavy flames.
According to authorities, the three residents inside the home were able to make it out. All three were transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment. Two of the victims were treated and released, while the third victim was brought to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for further evaluation, officials said.
Additionally, three firefighters suffered minor injuries while extinguishing the blaze.
After a thorough investigation, authorities determined that the fire was accidental, and that “failure of energized electrical equipment cannot be eliminated as the cause of the fire.”
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer acknowledges the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Toms River Township Bureau of Fire Prevention, for their combined and cooperative efforts in connection with this investigation.
