Weekend Mobile Home Fire Was Accidental, Officials Say

The fire that broke out in a vacant mobile home at 5 Mary Court Saturday morning was accidental, officials said today.

A resident in the Route 72 neighborhood called the incident in after seeing smoke just before 7 a.m. Saturday, said Deputy Fire Marshal Bill Gee of the Fire Marshal Division of the Ocean County Sherriff's Department.

The blaze was minor and was knocked down within minutes, officials said Saturday.

Gee said no one had lived in the trailer for some time, but the home was still connected to its electrical supply. Gee said an electrical malfunction was blamed for the fire, but had no further details on the cause.

It is standard procedure for the Fire Marshal Division to get involved when an unoccupied structure burns, Gee said, but "the follow-up investigation after we were on the scene is showing us the owners haven't been down for awhile," and all indications are that the blaze was an accident.