Suspicious Smoking Canister Causes Alarm in Toms River

Reports of a suspicious smoking container on a Toms River roadway leads to a response by fire and hazmat officials.

Police Chief Mike Mastronardy says a motorist reported that a hazardous substance in a small container on the side of County Route 571 just east of Route 9 was smoking sometime after 7 o'clock Friday night.

As a result, County Route 571 was closed from Intermediate School West to Route 9 for two hours 9 to examine and remove the container and clean up a substance spill.

Mastronardy says the Pleasant Plains Fire Department, Ocean County Office of Emergency Management and Berkeley Township Hazmat responded to the scene. They believe the container was dropped by a vehicle.