by Debbi Winogracki
Toms River Township
TOMS RIVER- In a joint statement, officials from Toms River Township, Mayor Thomas
Kelaher, and representatives from United Water expressed their concern for homeowners and residents of Friendly Village Mobile Home Park.
On December 25, 2014, a fire broke out in the private mobile home park, setting one home ablaze. “Fortunately, the homeowner was away when the fire started,” Mayor Kelaher said. “Sadly, her pets perished in the fire, but we are thankful that there was no loss of human life.”
Director of the Toms River Fire Bureau, Jim Mercready, stated that the fire had “a good head start” before any fire alarms went off. “The mobile home was fully engulfed in flames when the fire fighters reached the site,” Mercready noted.
“It is incorrect that there was a non-functioning hydrant. The mobile home park does not have fire hydrants, so the Fire Department used their GPS system to find the closest Township hydrant which was on Route 70,” Mercready said.
Mayor Kelaher wants to stress to the public that all Township hydrants are functioning correctly. “We work in conjunction with United Water to make sure that all of our hydrants are in use and are actively working. When dealing with a private community, such as the Friendly Village Mobile Home Park, it is the responsibility of the developer or the owner to place hydrants within their development. Friendly Village does not have any fire hydrants.”
Mercready added that the blow-off connections within the Friendly Village Mobile Home Park are components used for water quality within the mobile home park. The water source to this community is delivered through a bulk supply connection along Route 70 from United Water Public Water System, and the distribution network (including blow-off connections) located in the Friendly Village is owned and maintained by the private community, which is outside the jurisdiction of United Water’s tariff.
Mayor Kelaher and Township officials urge residents to disregard incorrect statements and misinformation circulating on various social media sites. Instead, residents are asked to obtain news from legitimate news outlets.