Investigators believe a smoky fire at a nursing home in Brick Township this morning started in a heating unit inside one of the patients' rooms.
No one was seriously hurt in the early morning fire at the Laurelton Care Center on Jack Martin Boulevard.
Fire inspector Richard Orlando says nine patients and two police officers were taken to Ocean Medical Center because of smoke inhalation.
Emergency medical crews from across Ocean County were called in to help transport the patients to other areas of the facility and area hospitals.
Portions of the facility suffered water damage, but the fire was contained to one room where two bed-ridden patients were staying.
AP wire services contributed to this report.