Investigators believe lithium batteries may have been responsible for a house fire in Toms River that injured both a resident and first responders on Monday.
Toms River firefighters and police responded to a residence on Tuyahov Boulevard – a small block of manufactured homes off Route 37, just east of Mule Road – for a report of a structure fire at about 10:50 a.m. The first responders found that a female resident of the home had been rescued from the residence by a neighbor, however both individuals suffered injuries from the fire. The woman was transported to Thomas Jefferson University Burn Center in Philadelphia where she is listed in stable condition. The neighbor was transported to Community Medical Center in Toms River where he was treated and released. During fire suppression efforts, a firefighter sustained minor injuries; he was transported to Community Medical Center where he was treated and released, a statement from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.
An investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention, revealed that the fire originated in a bedroom on the south side of the residence; the fire was determined to be accidental in nature, likely caused by the failure of lithium-ion batteries.
