Man Set Fire To Toms River Home After Fight With Wife: Prosecutor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man has been charged with arson after in a New Year's Day house fire that injured a Toms River firefighter, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Wednesday.

Christopher Defeis, 45, has been charged with aggravated arson and multiple other counts in the fire at his 15th Street home in the Silverton section following an argument with his wife at a New Year's Eve party, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

The fire sent Silverton Volunteer Fire Company firefighter Mike Mooney to the hospital with second-degree burns suffered when he and four other firefighters tried to search the home for three unaccounted-for residents, one of whom was Defeis.

After determining no one was in the home, authorities found Defeis sleeping in a vehicle parked in the driveway of the home.

Investigators found the fire, which started about 5 a.m., had "multiple points of origin and was ignited by a person or persons using an open flame to an ignitable liquid.," Billhimer's office said.

Investigators then learned Defeis and his wife had gotten into an argument at a party at a family member’s home earlier that evening, and Defeis had allegedly assaulted her, Billhimer said. Defeis left the party and went home, where authorities allege he poured gasoline throughout the kitchen, dining room and family room areas and set it on fire, before returning to his vehicle.

In a post on the Silverton Volunteer Fire Company Facebook page, Mooney and Fire Capt. John Keating, along with firefighters Max Kenny, Jason Goldstein and Salem Bahr went into the home to try to search for the three people, including Defeis, and while they were searching a flashover occurred, causing Mooney's burns. The firefighters immediatedly evacuated, the post said.

The prosecutor's office said Mooney suffered second-degree burns to his hands and forehead and was taken to Ocean Medical Center.

Defeis has been charged with domestic violence simple assault; second-degree aggravated arson; third-degree aggravated assault; and third-degree causing or creating an injury to a firefighter, Billhimer said.

Defeis is being held at the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.

The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Task Force, Toms River Police Department Detective Bureau, Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s K-9 Unit and Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit investigated the fire.

The Silverton Volunteer Fire Company and multiple Toms River agencies responded to the fire.

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Christopher Defeis photo provided by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office