Fire Destroys Toms River Home, Kills Residents' Cats

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A short circuit in an electrical item in a bedroom caused a fire Sunday evening that killed two pet cats and left a home uninhabitable, a Toms River fire official said Tuesday.

The fire at the two-story home on South Gateway was reported at about 9:05 p.m. Sunday, said Matthew Janora, chief inspector with the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention.

The residents were not home at the time of the fire, but a neighbor suffered some smoke inhalation after going into the home before firefighters arrived, Janora said. The neighbor was treated at the scene and refused additional medical treatment, he said.

Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2 and East Dover Fire Company responded and found heavy smoke and fire emanating from a second-story bedroom, Janora said. It was upgraded to a second alarm, bringing in the rest of the township's fire companies and mutual aid.

The fire was contained to the second floor but the entire home sustained significant smoke, fire and water damage, and the Toms River Building Department has posted the structure unsafe to occupy, he said.

"The fire has been ruled accidental, caused by the failure of energized electrical equipment located within the second-story bedroom," Janora said.

Inspector William Herbst of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention is leading the investigation.