FORKED RIVER – Lacey Township first responders extinguished two different structure fires Tuesday afternoon.
The first fire started around 1:43 p.m. at a home on Spar Drive. Officers Dylan Emmett and Daniel Biel of the Lacey Township Police department as well as the Forked River Fire Department, Lanoka Harbor Fire Department and Lacey Township EMS responded to the scene.
Upon arrival, they found the rear deck and part of the home was engulfed in flames. The one resident of the home was able to get out unharmed.
The blaze was extinguished before it was able to spread past the rear wall of the home. The Lacey Township Building Department deemed the house habitable as the integrity of the structure was not compromised.
At this time, officials determined that the fire was not suspicious, and believe it may have been ignited by a cigarette. The Ocean County Fire Marshall and Lacey Township Detective Bureau will be conducting the investigation.
The second fire occurred around 3:07 p.m. at the Heritage Village Apartments at Seabreeze located on North Newark Avenue. Smoke was coming from a first-floor apartment.
At the scene, first responders determined that the home was unoccupied and the smoke was coming from the contents of a cast iron pot on top of a stove that had been left on.
Residents in the complex were evacuated due to heavy smoke conditions and Lacey Township School Transportation arrived with school buses to provide temporary shelter for them.
The smoke was cleared by the Forked River Fire Department and determined that the building was safe for the residents to return.
One Lacey Police Officer suffered from smoke inhalation during the incident and was brought to Community Medical Center by Lacey Township EMS.
Lanoka Harbor Fire Department and Bayville Fire Department also assisted at the scene.
