Woman Dies, Man 'Stable' After Accidental House Fire In Ocean County

PLUMSTED, NJ — A mobile home fire in Plumsted that killed a woman and left a man hospitalized has been ruled accidental, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Catherine Hakos, 63, was pronounced dead after her body was found in a back bedroom of the home on Lakewood Road in Plumsted, the prosecutor's office said.

Paul Hakos, 79, was hospitalized and listed as stable at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold, authorities said. He was outside the home when firefighters responded to the report of the fire at 10 a.m., authorities said.

There was heavy smoke emanating from the home when firefighters arrived, authorities said.

The investigation found the fire originated underneath the home, and that a failure of energized electrical equipment could not be eliminated as the cause, so the cause of the fire has been ruled accidental, the prosecutor's office said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Squad, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, Plumsted Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Plumsted Township Fire Marshal’s Office, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit collaborated on the investigation.