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On Tuesday, Manchester police and Manchester Fire Department were dispatched on a report of a fire at a vacant structure on Ridgeway Road.
Once the fire was extinguished, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, and Manchester Township Detective Bureau, were requested to respond to the scene and conduct an examination into the origin and cause of the fire.
The result of the scene examination determined that the cause of the fire was incendiary, and that the fire was intentionally set, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
Investigators believe that this was an isolated incident and that there is no immediate threat to the surrounding community, Billhimer said.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone in possession of information concerning this fire is urged to contact Detective Robert Kraft of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 2745, or Detective Richard Conklin of the Manchester Township Police Department at 732-657-2009, extension 4211.
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