TOMS RIVER, NJ – The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has reported a fatal fire Thursday in Toms River has been deemed accidental after an investigation.
First responders were dispatched to Roberts Mobile Home Park on the 2200 block of Route 9 shortly after 3 pm on Thursday.
According to Jillian Messina, spokeswoman for the Toms River Police Department, “The caller attempted to alert the homeowner of the fire as they believed that he was still inside. At the time of police arrival, the home was fully engulfed and the officers attempts to gain entry were unsuccessful due to the heavy smoke conditions and intensity of the flames.”
Toms River Fire Companies responded and extinguished the blaze.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the fire was determined to be accidental.
“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 the Toms River Township Bureau of Fire Prevention, determined that the fire originated on a mattress in the only bedroom of the residence and that smoking cannot be eliminated as the cause of the fire,” Billhimer said in a statement today. “A post mortem examination of the victim is scheduled for today.”
During the primary search of the residence, the body of a deceased male, later identified as Billy Kimbrough, 76, the occupant of the residence, was discovered.