Toms River Regional school students. (Photo: TRRS)
A school bus fire that occurred Friday in Toms River has been ruled accidental, authorities said Tuesday.
Toms River Police Ptl. John Minor noticed the smoke while he was on patrol at approximately 2:41 am, said Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office. Minor was driving near Industrial Way North and noticed smoke coming from the area of Industrial Way South, where the Toms River Regional School Transportation Center is located.
The fire was extinguished and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit, Ocean County Sheriff’s Department Crime Scene Investigations Unit, Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office K-9 Unit, Toms River Bureau of Fire Safety, and the Toms River Police Department conducted the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire.
The partnering agencies concluded that the fire originated in the engine compartment of bus #240 and spread to two other school buses parked nearby. The cause of the fire and subsequent damage to the three buses is deemed accidental.
