Toms River Man Seriously Burned In Accidental Apartment Fire

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man suffered serious burns in an apartment fire Tuesday that authorities say started when he was smoking near a mattress.

The 64-year-old man who lived in the apartment was taken to Cooper Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston for treatment, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday. An update on his condition was not available Thursday.

The fire was reported about 10:20 p.m. Tuesday at an apartment complex on Broad Street, just off Main Street, the prosecutor's office said.

Details about damage to the apartment building or whether other tenants were affected were not immediately available.

The prosecutor's office said the fire was ruled accidental, and was found to have been started by smoking materials on a mattress in the bedroom.

It was investigated by the prosecutor's office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, the Ocean County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, the Toms River Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and the Toms River Township Bureau of Fire Prevention.

Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2 and the East Dover Fire Company responded.