Accidental Fire Damages Restaurant Supply Store In Toms River

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Investigators have ruled a fire that damaged a restaurant supplies store in Toms River on Thursday as accidental, a Toms River fire official said.

Kevin Esposito, chief inspector for the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention, said Toms River police were called to 789 Fischer Blvd. at 6:12 a.m. due to a burglar alarm. The arriving police officers saw smoke coming from the rear of the building, which houses Joseph T. Payne & Sons Restaurant Equipment sales and service.

Esposito said East Dover Fire Company, led by Chief Tim Ziesser, arrived on scene and Ziesser called a general alarm, which brought all Toms River Township fire companies to the scene. Due to an aggressive interior attack by the first arriving East Dover fire apparatus, the fire was

knocked down and contained to a rear office, he said.

The business also sustained moderate smoke, water, and heat damage throughout, Esposito said.

Inspector Charles Bauer conducted the origin and cause investigation with assistance from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and the Ocean County Sheriff's Criminal Investigative Unit.

It was determined by the investigators involved that the fire was accidental in nature, and a malfunctioning refrigerator could not be ruled out as the possible cause of the fire, Esposito said. Bauer posted the building unsafe, he said.

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