Electrical Malfunction Burns Harding Jewelry Store

An electrical malfunction caused a fire that burned through a Harding Township jewelry store Wednesday night, according to a statement released by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Thursday morning.

F. Gerald New Jewelers, located at 1107 Mt. Kemble Ave., was closed and no one was injured in the blaze that occurred at about 8:30 p.m., according to Capt. Jeffrey Paul, a spokesman for Prosecutor Robert A. Bianchi.

An investigation revealed the fire, which was reported by a passing motorist, began in an adjacent building where the jewelry store prepares items for shipping, the prosecutor's office said. An electrical malfunction within a light near a packing table caused the blaze, the prosecutor's office said.

There was extensive damage to the rear of the structure, but the New Vernon Fire Department extinguished the flames before the blaze destroyed the entire building, the prosecutor's office said.

The Harding Township Police Department, New Vernon fire and first aid squad, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office Arson Unit and Morris County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Unit responded to the scene.