Man Suffers Burns When Boat Ignites During Repairs

A 68-year-old man suffered burn injuries in a boat fire at a Silver Beach Road residence that was recently repaired after sustaining damage from Superstorm Sandy.  

Toms River police and fire units from Ocean Beach, Seaside Heights and Lavallette responded and "quickly" extinguished the fire on a boat located in the front yard of a 238 Silver Beach Road home at 2 p.m., said Chief of Police Michael Mastronardy. 

"The boat located in the front yard was totally destroyed and the fire damaged the vinyl siding on the front of the two-story home," the chief said. 

"The homeowners had recently repaired the house which suffered damage as the result of Superstorm Sandy," said James Mercready, director of the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention. "Firefighters were able to keep the fire from the interior portion of the structure."

The unidentified 68-year-old man is a Normandy Beach mechanic who was working on the boat when gasoline fumes ignited, which resulted in the complete destruction of the boat, according to Mercready.

The man was taken to Ocean Medical Center in Brick with burns to a hand and foot, Mastronardy said. The man told police he was working on the boat when he turned the engine on and it ignited. 

Fire Inspector Dominick Roselli said that the fire was accidental. The Toms River Office of Emergency Management also responded to analyze remaining gasoline in the fuel tank of the vessel, Mercready said.