6 Injured, 10 Homeless As 6 Mariners Cove Townhouses Burn In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — One person was hospitalized and five others, including three firefighters, were injured early Monday in a fire that left six townhouses uninhabitable at the Mariners Cove complex on Kettle Creek Road, authorities said.

The fire, which was reported about 3:20 a.m. Monday, has left 10 people without housing, said Matthew Janora, chief of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention.

The fire has been ruled accidental, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. "A failure of energized electrical equipment cannot be eliminated as the cause of the fire," he said.

Janora said firefighters arriving at the scene initially were told a man was unaccounted for and possibly trapped inside, and fire crews tried to search for him but were forced to retreat due to the fire's severity.

He said the unaccounted-for occupant was later found safely outside, unharmed.

Billhimer said three residents were taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River, with two treated and released and the third transferred to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for further evaluation. Janora said one adult and a child suffered burns and smoke inhalation. It was not known whether the person taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital was a child or an adult.

The three firefighters suffered minor injuries, with two treated for burns at the hospital and released.

Janora said the fire companies brought the blaze under control quickly, limiting the extent of the damage. The Toms River Building Department has posted six damaged units as unsafe, with two units severely damaged by the fire, he said.

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 investigated the fire.

Fire units from Pleasant Plains Volunteer Fire Department, East Dover Fire Company, Toms River Fire Company 1 and 2, Ocean Beach Volunteer Fire Company, and Island Heights Volunteer Fire Company responded to assist with the firefighting efforts.

"The Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention commends all of the firefighter and emergency personnel who responded to this incident for their swift and effective response, which undeniably prevented further damage," Janora said.