House fire on Lehigh Boulevard claims life of Jackson resident
House fire on Lehigh Boulevard claims life of Jackson resident ×
JACKSON – A resident of Jackson died in a house fire the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office has determined was accidental in nature.
On April 1 at 8:45 p.m., Jackson police officers and firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at a home on Lehigh Boulevard in a residential development off West County Line Road in the vicinity of Brewers Bridge Road.
The first responders were informed the fire involved people trapped in the home, according to a press release from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office
Fire that killed woman, 82, and injured 3 ruled accidental
April 3, 2021
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JACKSON, N.J. (AP) A fire that claimed the life of a New Jersey woman and injured three other people has been ruled accidental, authorities said.
Police and fire department personnel were called to the home at about 8:45 p.m. Thursday and found the structure engulfed in flames, the Ocean County prosecutor’s office said Friday.
Authorities said 82-year-old Salvacion Elyea was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner concluded that she died of smoke inhalation. Another person jumped from the second story and had minor injuries. One police officer was treated for smoke inhalation and another for minor injuries.
Kerosene heater blamed for fire that killed 82-year-old woman, authorities say
Updated 10:59 AM;
A house fire in Ocean County that killed an 82-year-old woman and left another hurt Thursday was apparently caused by a kerosene heater and has been ruled accidental, authorities said Saturday.
A second person suffered minor injuries after jumping from the second floor of the home to escape the flames, officials said.
The investigation “determined that the fire was caused by a kerosene heater being located too close in proximity to a combustible liquid,” Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a statement.
The Ocean County Medical Examiner determined Elyea died of smoke inhalation, Billhimer said.
A second victim jumped from the second story of the residence to escape the fire and received minor injuries, but was not identified.
A Jackson police officer was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, while a second officer was transported to Monmouth Medical Center for minor injuries and released.
The Ocean County Medical Examiner determined that Elyea died from smoke inhalation.
Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and Monmouth County for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of two books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp