Toms River Officer Rescues Woman, Pets From Burning Home

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River police officer is being praised for rescuing a woman and her pets from their burning home during a fire in the township last week.

Toms River Police Officer Rebecca Sayegh was the first officer to arrive at the fire on Loxley Drive about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday, said Jillian Messina, media relations specialist for the Toms River Police Department.

When neighbors told Sayegh they believed the homeowner was still in the house, Sayegh forced her way through the front door and found the woman in the foyer; she had been unable to open the door and leave the house because of the heavy smoke, Messina said.

Sayegh confirmed there were no other people in the house and then helped the woman and her pets out of the house and across the street to a neighbor's home, where the woman was evaluated by Toms River EMS, Messina said.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office praised Sayegh in a post on Facebook, saying, "Police Officers continue to do amazing and heroic things! ... Great job Officer Sayegh and all the responding emergency personnel for a job well done!"

The fire in the two-story home was ruled accidental, said Kevin Esposito, chief inspector for the Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention. Esposito said fire inspector Matt Janora found the fire started in the fireplace in the living room.

Multiple fire departments responded and assisted in extinguishing the fire. Toms River Fire Companies 1 and 2, East Dover Fire Department, Silverton Fire Department, Pleasant Plains Fire Company, and Island Heights Fire Department, as well as, Brick Township Fire and EMS Mass Care Response Team, Messina said.

Toms River Police Detectives Roger Hull and Travis Seaman were on scene along with Janora and fire inspector Dana Mitchell.

Due to freezing temperatures, Toms River Department of Public Works responded to the area to sand and salt the roads to prevent hazardous road conditions.

One firefighter was taken to Community Medical Center for treatment of a minor injury, Messina said. The cause of the fire is under investigation by Toms River Bureau of Fire Prevention and is believed to be accidental.

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