TOMS RIVER, N.J. — A fire that killed a woman inside a Toms River apartment Oct. 23 was accidental and caused by careless smoking, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Toms River police and firefighters were called at about 11:20 p.m. to a reported structure fire at Highland Plaza Apartments on Highland Parkway, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced. When they arrived, smoke was coming from a second-floor apartment, according to the prosecutor’s office.
During a primary search of the unit, firefighters found a woman dead on the living room floor, authorities said.
Investigators determined the fire started on a couch along the east wall of the living room and ruled it accidental, attributing it to careless smoking, the prosecutor’s office said.
The woman’s name was not released. Authorities said she will be identified after a positive identification is made and her next of kin are notified.
The investigation was handled by the prosecutor’s Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau, the Toms River Township Bureau of Fire Prevention and the Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office.
This report is based on information from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office.
Source: Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office press release
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