Firefighters Contain Manchester House Fire

(Photos courtesy Manchester Township Police Department)

The origin of a fire late Tuesday night that damaged a Manchester home remains under investigation today, officials said.

There were no injuries reported, police Capt. Lisa Parker said.

Manchester Township Police Officers Vincent DeRome and Keith Craig responded to a call about 11:15 p.m. reporting a possible fire and saw smoke coming from the home at 3239 Wilbur Ave., Parker said.

A short time later they saw flames coming from the wood frame chimney of the two-story home, which was unoccupied at the time. DeRome and Craig tried to extinguish the blaze using fire extinguishers while firefighters were en route.

The Ridgeway, Manchester and Whiting fire companies responded and extinguished the fire, Parker said, working in temperatures in the single digits. Accuweather.com reported the temperature was 9 degrees in Manchester as of 12:45 a.m., when firefighters were still on the scene checking the home and awaiting the building inspector.

The home sustained damage to the chimney, roof and master bedroom, Parker said, but was deemed habitable by the township building inspector, allowing the residents to go back into the home.

The Manchester Township First Aid Squad, Ocean County Fire Marshal, and Manchester Office of Emergency Management also responded and assisted.

The origin of the fire, which is not considered to be suspicious, is currently under investigation by Deputy Fire Marshal John Pasola of the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office and Manchester Township Police Detective Christopher Hemhauser.

Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com.

Stay on top of Patch’s local coverage of Manchester by subscribing to the daily newsletter, here.

Do you have news, photos, an opinion or event to share with your neighbors? Click here to learn how to post on Patch.