By Steven Rodas
nj.com
TOMS RIVER, N.J. — More than 20 families were displaced following a fire Saturday that engulfed several units at a Toms River apartment complex, first responders and American Red Cross officials said.
Local firefighters, EMS and police units responded to the area of Inverness Drive in Toms River on reports of an active structure fire at about 1:30 p.m., township police said Saturday.
The cause of the multi-alarm blaze at Fairways At Bey Lea, an apartment complex, appears to be “accidental in nature,” Matthew Janora, assistant chief inspector for the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
Janora said approximately 37 people were displaced as a result of the fire, which units fought for about five hours.
Photos and videos posted online showed heavy plumes of gray smoke surrounding the complex. Drivers were asked to avoid the area. The incident prompted calls to several fire units, including companies from East Dover, Pleasant Plains, Forked River, Bayville and Lakewood.
Investigators suspect the fire began outside on the third floor balcony of a unit in Building 30 of the complex, officials with the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention said.
As a result of the fire, two firefighters, one EMT and one tenant of the complex were treated for minor injuries, Janora said.
Staff from the American Red Cross New Jersey Region were also on the scene and continue to assist the families who were displaced.
As of Sunday, the American Red Cross met with several families, organizers at the nonprofit said.
“We did provide those families with Red Cross emergency financial assistance that they can use for food, clothing, temporary lodging, and the other immediate needs that they might have,” Sheri Ferreira, a spokesperson with American Red Cross New Jersey Region, said Sunday.
Ferreira said the Red Cross was initially called to Toms River to help 24 families. On Sunday at 4 p.m., she said the organization had met with 35 people belonging to 19 families and planned to meet with additional families.
Toms River Fire Prevention, Toms River Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutors Office continue to investigate the fire, local officials said.
Janora said the building where the blaze took place — which contains 22 units — was “posted unsafe.”
“Toms River Fire Department units remained on scene into the evening hours for fire overhaul operations and origin and cause investigation,” he said.
Additional information on the fire was not immediately released.
NJ Advance Media staff writer Adam Clark contributed to this report.
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