Morning Fire In Toms River Closes Some Downtown Streets

by Karen Wall

Toms River firefighters and police are on the scene of a fire in a home at 8 Park Street that started before 9 a.m., police are reporting. Nearby roads are closed due to icing from the water being used to fight the fire.

Park Street is closed its entire length. Additionally Broad and Lien streets at either end of Park, Messenger Street and Main Street are closed in the area, police spokesman Ralph Stocco said.

Park Street is a block west of Main Street, not far from Toms River High School South.

Stocco said crews responded to an 8:46 a.m. call from the resident about the fire and are contending with light snow and temperatures below 20 degrees as they fight the fire. Everyone was out of the home by the time emergency personnel arrived, he said.

The cold weather is causing icing conditions in the area as water flowing off from the fire scene gathers on the roads, Stocco said. Police and fire agencies are working in conjunction with the Toms River Public Works Department to sand and salt the area prior to reopening the surrounding roadways which are currently closed.

Initial reports are that the fire began in a bedroom on the south side of the home and quickly spread. Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2 responded, as well as Pleasant Plains, East Dover, Silverton, and Island Heights, Stocco said.

Photo credit: Toms River Police Department