Toms River House Charred, Family Escapes Injury

A Toms River family narrowly avoids serious injury as flames incinerate the garage attached to their house in the middle of the night.

Township Police Chief Mike Mastronardy says flames were enveloping the garage of the two-story dwelling on Liberty Bell Drive when firefighters raced in response around 1:30 AM today.

Stanley Lutkiewicz, 36, told police that the odor of smoke alerted him, and that he failed to quench the flames with an extinguisher. At that point, he roused his family and gathered them outdoors.

Volunteer firefighters from the Pleasant Plains and Silverton stations as well as Toms River Fire Company 2 brought the blaze under control, but not before flames left the home considerably

damaged and also marred an adjoining house's exterior.

Lutkiewicz was treated for minor hand burns on site. Police provided no details as to whether the house contained functional smoke alarms.

 The fire is under investigation.