Police: 'Alert' Resident Rescued Dog from House Fire

An "alert" Lacey resident rescued a neighbor’s dog from a fire that left a Forked River home with smoke and water damage, police said.

A resident of Sandy Hook Drive witnessed heavy smoke coming from a home on Tampa Road in Forked River on Feb. 16, police said. Realizing the homeowners were not home, the neighbor ran into the residence and rescued an adult male black lab, prior to the arrival of emergency services.

At approximately 5:53 p.m., Officers Robert Flynn and Peter Donahue responded to a 911 call of a residential chimney fire on the 700 block of Tampa Road.

No injuries were reported, police said.

The Forked River Fire Company responded and was able to extinguish the chimney fire. The Ocean County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the fire.

This was the second chimney fire that the police department and Forked River Fire Company responded to last week.

At approximately 10:11 p.m., on Feb. 13, officers responded to a Bobwhite Court, Forked River residence due to a report of a chimney fire.

Upon the arrival of officers, a large amount of smoke was observed billowing out of the residence, police said.

The Forked River Fire Company responded and determined the fire was contained to the chimney and was extinguished. The owner of the residence had extinguished the fire utilizing a fire extinguisher, police said.