Fire at Lawrence Shopping Center Quickly Doused

Flames were contained to the light sign above a dry cleaning business.

A fire that broke out in a lighted sign above one of the stores at Lawrence Shopping Center was extinguished before it could spread to the building itself earlier this evening (Friday, Nov. 30), Lawrence Township fire officials confirmed. Dispatched at 5:22 p.m., volunteer firefighters from the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville fire companies arrived at the shopping center in the 2400 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) to find flames coming from the “C” in the “Cleaners” sign above a dry cleaning business in the middle of the row of attached stores. Firefighters shut off power to the sign and quickly extinguished the flames. A thermal imaging camera, a device that can detect heat, was used by firefighters to confirm the …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (4)

Fire Damages Vehicle, Home on Business Route 1

The Thursday afternoon fire is under investigation by Lawrence Township police and fire officials.

Lawrence Township police and fire officials are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding a blaze that damaged a vehicle and home in the 2200 block of Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) this afternoon (Thursday, Nov. 29). It was about 12:20 p.m. today when authorities received a 911 call reporting a vehicle fire in the area of Brunswick Pike and President Avenue. At that time, the township’s daytime duty crew of career firefighters and volunteer firefighters from Slackwood Fire Co. were dispatched. Police Officer Robert Loveless was the first emergency responder to arrive on the scene. He found the engine compartment of a Subaru Legacy on fire; the vehicle was parked only a few feet from the front of the home at 2256 Brunswick …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (16)

Updated: Raging Fire Destroys Garage, Auto on Oaklyn Terrace

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at 5:34 p.m. Wednesday. Investigators believe the fire started in the area of a wood-burning stove located in the garage.

Update, 1:30 p.m. Nov. 29: The precise cause of Wednesday evening’s blaze on Oaklyn Terrace remains under investigation, but investigators have determined that the fire started in the area of a wood-burning stove located inside the garage that was destroyed, according to Lawrence Township Fire Marshal Dale Robbins and police department spokesman Lt. Mark Ubry.   Update, 11 p.m. Nov. 28: The cause of the fire that earlier this evening destroyed a detached garage, along with a Ford Bronco that was parked nearby, behind a home on Oaklyn Terrace remains under investigation, but investigators do not believe it to be suspicious in nature, according to Lawrence Road Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Shaun Dlabik. Dlabik said residents called 911 shortly …

•  1 Comment
• Photos (9)

Lawrence Firefighters Help Battle Princeton House Fire

No one was injured in the Friday afternoon blaze in Princeton Borough.

Volunteer firefighters from Lawrence Township were among the crews that fought a house fire in Princeton Borough Friday afternoon (Nov. 23). The home on Moore Street home sustained extensive damage after a resident accidentally started the fire by discarding his lit cigarette on a pile of dry leaves and a plastic rain diverter, according to Princeton Borough Police.  No one was hurt, but about than 60 firefighters and six emergency medical technicians responded to the blaze at 156 Moore St., the home of Marc and Susana Monseau, police said. A resident called police at 12:42 p.m. and reported that the back of the house was on fire. When police arrived on scene a minute later, the residents were outside and the back of the house was engulfed…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (3)

Video: Lawrence Crews Help Battle Apartment Blaze

The two-alarm fire, reported about 12:40 a.m. Tuesday, struck Building 18 of the River's Edge apartment complex on Country Lane in Ewing Township.

Update, 10:30 a.m., Nov. 6: Investigators have determined that a cooking mishap was the cause of this morning's blaze at the River's Edge apartment complex in Ewing Township. West Trenton Fire Co. Chief Ralf Brandmaier said a grease fire that started in the kitchen of a first-floor apartment rapidly intensified and spread to the apartment above and from there to the attic of the building. He estimated that about a half-dozen apartments in the 16-unit building were damaged in some way by fire or smoke.  The resident of the apartment where the fire began was treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital but was later released, he said.   Original post, 3 a.m., Nov. 6: Volunteer firefighters from a half-dozen municipalities, including …

• Photos (12)
• Videos (1)

Photos: Chimney Fire Extinguished on Bergen Street

The Friday night blaze was contained to the fireplace and chimney, with no damage to the house on Bergen Street.

Volunteer firefighters from all three Lawrence Township fire companies, together with township police officers and a Lawrence Township ambulance crew, responded to a chimney fire in a home located at the corner of Bergen Street and Dix Lane shortly before 9:40 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12. A shower of embers was visible coming from the top of the chimney when emergency personnel arrived, but the fire was quickly extinguished. There was no damage to the house itself; the blaze was contained to logs in the fireplace and creosote and other flammable material that coated the inside of the chimney, according to police and fire officials at the scene.

• Photos (13)

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Schuler Family Offers 'Note of Gratitude'

The writers are Amy and Bill Schuler and their children, whose home on Fountayne Lane in Lawrence Township was destroyed by a fire during the early hours of Aug. 13.

To our dear families, neighbors, friends, and their friends and families from Lawrenceville and around the country who wrote cards, shared mementos, offered prayers, took care of our sons, made generous financial donations, and provided everything from their homes to bikes to computers to clothing to food and meals to soccer equipment. To our local firefighters, police, sports and religious organizations, businesses and school district that provided tuition-relief, valuable guidance and direction. To those we've never met who anonymously showered us with endless acts of kindness, complete strangers like the nine-year old daughter of a DMV clerk who led her bible class in a prayer for our family. Not in our lifetimes can we ever …

• Photos (5)
• Videos (1)

Cause of Townhouse Blaze Still Under Investigation

Residents of the destroyed home on Featherbed Court in Lawrence Township were able to escape to safety after they were alerted to the blaze late Wednesday evening by the sound of a smoke detector going off.

While the precise cause of the blaze that gutted a Featherbed Court townhouse remains under investigation, authorities are sure that the fire started at the rear of the lowest level of the three-story home, according to Lawrence Township Fire Marshal Dale Robbins. Located in that den area were the home’s laundry facilities, main electrical panel and a fireplace. The clothes dryer was in use when the fire broke out, but the fireplace was not, Robbins said. Because of the intensity of the fire and the fact that part of the second floor collapsed not long after firefighters entered the house with hoses to battle the flames, investigators suspect the blaze had been burning for a while and had gotten a head start before firefighters were first …

• Photos (6)

Another Blaze Doused at Paper-Shredding Business

Several small fires have occurred since August 2011 at Cintas Document Management on Whitehead Road.

Lawrence Township firefighters this afternoon (Thursday, Sept. 6) responded to the Cintas Document Management facility in the 600 block of Whitehead Road to extinguish a small fire in a Cintas "mobile shredding unit" box truck filled with shredded paper. The blaze, reported shortly before 1:40 p.m., was fought by the township’s daytime duty crew of career firefighters and volunteer firefighters from Slackwood Fire Co. Lawrence Township firefighters have responded to several blazes at the Cintas facility on Whitehead Road in the last year or so, including:  

• Photos (9)