Charles Maulbeck (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A Toms River man has been charged with arson after police say he intentionally lit a fire at a Brick Township home in September.
Charles Maulbeck, 51, has been charged with aggravated arson in connection with a fire that occurred on Falkenberg Road in Brick Township’s Midstreams section on Sept. 13, 2024.
According to prosecutors, a Brick Township police officer noticed smoke coming from a residence while on a routine patrol and called the fire department. During fire suppression efforts, three firefighters were injured. One of the firefighters declined medical attention at the scene, and two others were treated at a local medical facility and released.
The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Arson Squad, as well as Brick police and fire officials, determined after an investigation that the fire originated in the north side of a split basement. The cause of the fire was determined to be “incendiary” by an unknown person or persons utilizing an open flame to available combustibles.
Maulbeck was identified as a suspect, though prosecutors did not divulge the details of the investigation that led them to him.
Maulbeck was served with the charge Monday on a complaint in the Ocean County Jail, where he is presently lodged on an unrelated matter. According to jail records, he is being held on multiple charges of weapons possession as well as criminal mischief.
