25 People Displaced As Fire Ravages Townhouses In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Twenty-five people were displaced Saturday when a fire destroyed townhouses at the Fairways at Bey Lea, authorities said.

The fire on the 3000 block of Inverness Drive was reported about 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Toms River police said. All of the residents were evacuated, police said.

Information on the cause of the fire was not immediately available Sunday. Fire officials said there were no serious injuries.

All six Toms River fire companies responded to the three-alarm fire, which started in one unit and quickly spread. The Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention said the size of the fire and extreme heat led to the call for mutual aid; fire companies from Forked River, Bayville, and Lakewood responded to the fire.

"Thank you to all the fire companies, EMS and law enforcement that responded to The Fairways at Bey Lea fire," the Pleasant Plains Fire Company wrote in a post on Facebook Sunday. "Our thoughts are with the families as they deal with this terrible tragedy. The weather was against us and so were the conditions of the fire. There were no serious injuries which we are all thankful for. Again, thank you to everyone who responded."

Photos of the fire published by Ocean County Scanner News show the severity of the damage and the blaze. It took firefighters about two hours to bring the fire under control, that report said.

The Pleasant Plains Fire Company and the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company also shared photos of the fire, credited to Jp Melf, on their Facebook accounts.

Red Cross officials said 25 people from 15 families were receiving emergency assistance for temporary lodging, food, clothing and other immediate needs.

One family's dog escaped during the fire, but was found and reunited with her family later Saturday, according to follow-up social media posts from her owner.