Full Notification

SUBJECT:  Fatal Structure Fire                                                                                                                       
DATE/TIME: 12/16/23 @ 12:09pm               
 
OFFICERS: Officers Mark Powoski, Daniel Weber, Kyle Kane, James Woodley and Mario Paden, Detectives Dean Schoch and Christopher Clune, Sergeant Michael Melody, as well as members of the Wanamassa, Deal, Asbury Park and Neptune City First Aid and Fire Department, and members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Monmouth County SPCA.
                                   
LOCATION: 1515 Allen Avenue          
 
NARRATIVE:    
     On December 16^th 2023 at 12:09 pm, officers from the Ocean Township Police Department responded to an apartment located at the Wanamassa Gardens Apartment Complex at 1515 Allen Avenue for the report of a heavy smoke condition coming from the residence.
 
     Once first responders were able to enter the apartment, they located a 67 year old male resident, who was unconscious and had sustained serious burns to his body.  He was later transported to the Jersey Shore University Medical Center by the Wanamassa First Aid Squad, where he succumbed to his injuries.  Also located in the apartment were a cat and a German Shepherd that perished due to injuries related to the fire.  The fire was contained to a single apartment within a building in the complex.
 
     In total, four fire departments responded to the scene in order to assist with fire suppression and first aid. Those departments included Wanamassa, Deal, Asbury Park and Neptune City.  Although the building was evacuated at the time of the incident and related activities, no residents of the apartment building were displaced as a result of the fire.  Additional responders to the incident included members of the Monmouth County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and the Monmouth County SPCA.
 
     The cause of the fire and the surrounding circumstances are currently under investigation by Wanamassa Fire Marshal Thomas Haege, Monmouth County Fire Marshal Fred Migliaccio, Detective Dean Schoch of the Ocean Township Police Criminal Investigation Bureau and Detective Aaron Shaw of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
 
PREPARED BY:         Detective Sergeant Matthew Jackiewicz
                                    Public Information Officer
                                    (732) 531-1800
                                    [email protected]
 
DATE:                          12/18/2023