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Heavy flames were coming from the front and back of the house on Joe Parker Road when emergency personnel arrived around 1:20 a.m., Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Occupants of the home told responders one person was still inside. A Lakewood police officer successfully rescued him from the home. He was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of his injuries, and was listed in critical but stable condition as of press time, the prosecutor said.
The rescuing officer was taken to Monmouth Medical Center-Southern Campus in Lakewood, where he was treated for smoke inhalation and released.
Meanwhile, firefighter suffered a cardiac event during fire suppression, Billhimer said. He was taken to Ocean University Medical Center in Brick Township, where he was treated and released.
A thorough and extensive investigation conducted by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit- Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, and Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office.
An investigation found that the blaze originated underneath a screened-in deck attached to the structure, and that the cause of the fire was accidental due to discarded smoking material.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Lakewood Township Police Department Detective Bureau, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office, assisted in the investigation.
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