NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP — A teenage boy was killed in a house fire that started in his room late Monday night. Investigators were looking at whether the fire might have been caused by a candle.

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said the 17-year-old boy died in the home on McBride Avenue in a fire that started just before midnight. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Golden said an investigation by the fire marshal would determine the source of the fire, which happened amid a night of severe storms throughout New Jersey.

Two other people inside the home made it safely out, according to Golden

Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Charles Webster said the one of the residents in the home heard a fire alarm go off and found the boy's room "consumed with fire." Firefighters could not reach his bedroom because of "heavy fire," according to Webster, who said the boy was found deceased in his room.

Power was out in much of Neptune Township at the time of the fire following violent thunderstorms that passed through the area on Monday night. Before restoration efforts got underway Golden said half the utility customers in Monmouth County were without power.

Neptune Township's Office of Emergency Management reported a shed fire on Melrose Avenue in the Shark River Hills section of the township.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The age of the deceased was initially given as 16. The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office in a subsequent news release about the fire stated he was 17 years old.

Shed fire in Shark River Hills
Shed fire in Shark River Hills (Neptune Twp OEM)
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Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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