Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that on March 7, 2023, at approximately 10:20 p.m., multiple Toms River Fire Departments were dispatched to a structure fire at an apartment complex on Broad Street with a burn victim. A 64 year-old male, who was a tenant of an apartment, was found to have suffered serious burns to his body. He was taken to Cooper Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey for treatment and further evaluation.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by 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, determined that the fire originated on a mattress in the bedroom of the apartment, and that cause of the fire was accidental due to smoking.
Prosecutor Billhimer acknowledges 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, Toms River Township Police Department, and Toms River Township Bureau of Fire Prevention, for their combined and cooperative efforts in connection with this investigation.