MANCHESTER – Authorities believe an electrical malfunction caused a massive blaze that destroyed a Whiting home but left its residents unharmed, authorities said.
Police and firefighters responded around 10:20 p.m. October 26 to 5 Darien Court after reports of a structure fire, according to the Manchester Township Police Department. Officers arrived to find the single-family home fully engulfed in flames.
All occupants were safely evacuated after a neighbor spotted the fire from across the cul-de-sac and alerted the residents, Wilfredo Ramos and Ada Meacham. The couple told investigators they were asleep when they awoke to smoke alarms and the neighbor pounding on their windows.
No one was injured, though the couple’s two cats died in the fire.
Responding agencies included the Whiting Volunteer Fire Department, Manchester Fire Department, Ridgeway Fire Department, U.S. Air Force Fire Department, New Egypt Fire Department, Pinewald Pioneer Fire Department, Bayville Fire Company, Lakehurst Fire Department, Forked River Fire Department, McGuire-Dix Joint Base Fire Department, and the Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.
Emergency medical personnel from Manchester Township Division of Emergency Services and South Toms River EMS also assisted.
The fire is under investigation by Patrolman Gainey and Detective Steffen of the Manchester Police Department, along with Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office Investigator Zachary Sharp.
Authorities said the blaze appears to have been accidental, likely caused by an electrical malfunction.
