Fire Destroys Manchester Apartment Building, Kills Pets

MANCHESTER, NJ — Firefighters rescued a person from a balcony as a fire destroyed an apartment building at the Suncrest Village complex on Sunday, Manchester police said.

There were no injuries in the fire that was reported about 1:15 p.m. Sunday on Welles Circle, but several pets perished, Capt. Vincent Manco said.

Officers found heavy smoke and flames coming from apartment building 18 led to the evacuation of all 16 apartments, Manco said.

During the evacuation firefighters found someone trapped on a second-story balcony and rescued the person, he said.

Building 17 was evacuated as well as a precautionary measure, he said, because of strong winds when the fire was being battled.

Firefighters from multiple mutual aid companies responded and were partner jurisdictions responded and were able to put the fire out, Manco said.

The cause and origin of the fire remains under investigation by Manchester Police Detectives and the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.

The following fire departments responded and contributed to putting out the fire: Manchester, Ridgeway, Whiting, Joint Base MDL, Toms River No. 1, Pleasant Plains, Berkeley, Bayville, Manitou Park, Cassville, and Pinewald Pioneer. Emergency Medical Services from Manchester, Brick, Lakehurst, and Toms River also responded.

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