Toms River Man Set Fire To Brick Home: Prosecutor

BRICK, NJ — A Toms River man has been charged with arson in connection with a September fire at a Brick Township home that injured three firefighters, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Tuesday.

Charles F. Maulbeck, 51, has been charged with aggravated arson and was served with the charge at the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held on an unrelated matter, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Brick Township police on patrol on Sept. 13 saw smoke and heavy fire coming from a home on Falkenberg Road, he said. While firefighters worked to put the fire out, three suffered injuries, authorities said.

One of the firefighters declined medical attention at the scene, and two others were treated at a local hospital and released, authorities said.

Fire investigators determined the fire originated in the north side of the split basement, and was caused by a person setting fire to available combustibles, Billhimer said.

Investigators then determined Maulbeck was the person who set the fire, he said.

The Ocean County Corrections website shows Maulbeck, who also uses the alias of John S. Petrovich, was arrested Sept. 15 in the unrelated matter. That incident includes charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing bodily injury, two counts of criminal mischief causing property damage, a count of certain persons not to possess a weapon and five other weapons charges. It does not say where that incident happened.

Billhimer said the Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad and High Tech Crime Squad, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Brick Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Brick Township Bureau of Fire Safety collaborated on the investigation.