Penguin Court Fire Deemed Accidental

was deemed accidental, Ocean County Fire Marshal Robert Cook said.

Fire departments responded to the scene at 12:55 a.m. It took approximately two hours and 30 firefighters to control the blaze. No injuries were reported.

“The front of the house was totally up to the roof with flames,” Forked River Fire Department Chief Ray Brandmahl said of the department’s arrival on Monday. “You could see the glow from a block away before we got there.”

“It was very hot,” Brandmahl previously said. “Electrical wires were popping and insulation was burning out in the street.”

The fire was accidental in nature and originated on the porch, Cook said. Cook is not releasing the cause of the fire at this time.

The home is currently uninhabitable and will most likely have to be torn down, Brandmahl had said.

Responding to the scene were the Forked River, Lanoka Harbor and Bayville fire departments. The Waretown Volunteer Fire Company responded to cover for the Forked River Fire Department.