BERKLEY TOWNSHIP, NJ – A fire at a makeshift homeless encampment at Johnson’s Pit in Berkeley Townships is being investigated as a possible arson.
According to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer On Monday, at approximately 2:20 p.m., the Berkeley Township Police Department and the Beachwood Borough Fire Department responded to a wooded area inside Johnson’s Pit, located in Berkeley Township, for a report of a brush fire.
“Upon arrival, emergency personnel discovered and extinguished a small brush fire. An investigation by the Ocean County Fire Marshals Office and New Jersey State Forest Fire Service determined that there were three separate fires, including one inside an unoccupied tent,” the OCPO said today.
A police investigation has determined that the fire had three separate points of origin and was intentionally set.
“An open flame to available combustibles cannot be eliminated as to the cause,” Billhimer said.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation, and anyone in possession of information concerning this fire is urged to contact Detective Christopher Bonner of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-929-2027, extension 2449 or Detective William Sommers of the Berkeley Township Police Department at 732-341-1132, extension 2111.