 LAWRENCE ROAD FIRE CO.
NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Friday, June 1, 2007 – 8:45 p.m. |
| Location: 120 Villanova Drive, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: All three Lawrence Township fire companies and Hamilton’s Ladder 14 were toned outduring a rain storm for a house possibly hit by lightning. Crews investigated and discovered a light smoke condition within the dwelling. Crews then found some scorch marks around an electrical outlet from where the lightning bolt had traveled through the house and grounded out. Thermal imaging cameras were used to search the entire house. Fortunately, no fire was found. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Ff. Matthew Farletta | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Evan Kutzin |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Chris Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Jr. |
| Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. | Crew: Ff. Theresa Androvett |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe | Driver: Ff. Andrew Fosina |
| Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera | Crew: Ff. Steven Adzima |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Saturday, June 2, 2007 – 2:04 a.m. |
| Location: 770 Lawrence Road, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Firefighters from the Lawrence Road, Slackwood and Lawrenceville fire companies were dispatched on Box 22-10 for a possible house fire. Lawrenceville Assistant Chief Gary Wasko arrived on scene to find smoke showing from the front door. Lawrence Chief Chief Richard Farletta then arrived and assumed command. The crew from the first-due apparatus, Telesquirt 22, stretched a 1.75-inch hoseline into the house and extinguished a fire inside the kitchen. Crews from Snorkel 21, Ladder Tower 23 and Engine 22 helped check for fire extension and vent smoke from the house. The fire was under control by 2:19 a.m. The blaze started in a dishwasher and spread to the kitchen cabinets on either side. The entire kitchen was heavily damaged by smoke and heat, while the rest of the home sustained moderate smoke damage. All Lawrence Road units were back in quarters by 3:22 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Evan Kutzin | Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III |
| Crew: Ff. Keith Kent | Crew: Ff. Martin Burch |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Ff. Ryan Dlabik | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Ff. Theresa Androvett | Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
| OVERTURNED VEHICLE |
| Date & Time: Tuesday, June 5, 2007 – 4:32 p.m. |
| Location: Interstate 295 North, between Route 1 and Sloan Avenue, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrenceville’s Rescue 23, Slackwood’s Rescue 21, and Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22, with Lawrence Township EMS Ambulance 129-1, responded to a one-vehicle accident with entrapment. Crews arrived to find one person pinned in the vehicle. Rescue 23’s crew, assisted by Rescue 21’s manpower, performed the extrication and had the victim freed by 4:50 p.m. Rescue 22’s crew spread five pounds of speedie-dry on the road to soak up gas and other fluids spilled from the wreckage, then helped Rescue 23’s crew repack the hoseline that had been stretched during the extrication. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 5:06 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Ff. Ryan Dlabik | Driver: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr. | Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon |
| Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
| OVERTURNED TRACTOR-TRAILER |
| Date & Time: Wednesday, June 6, 2007 – 12:03 p.m. |
| Location: Route 1 Freeway Northbound, north of Whitehead Road, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Slackwood’s Rescue 21, Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22, Lawrenceville’s Rescue 23, and a Lawrence Township EMS ambulance responded for an overturned tractor-trailer with unknown entrapment. Crews arrived to find the rig had jackknifed and flipped onto its side across both northbound lanes. Passing motorists stopped and had helped the 38-year-old driver from the wreckage prior to emergency personnel reaching the scene. The man was not hurt. Rescue 22’s crew stood by with a 1.75-inch hoseline while Rescue 21’s crew assessed the condition of the overturned trailer and applied speedie-dry to the road to contain spilled diesel fuel and other fluids Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 2:27 p.m. During the incident, while crews from all three Lawrence Township fire companies were committed on Route 1, Engine 14-1 from Hamilton Fire Co. and Ladder Tower 31 from Prospect Heights Fire Co. from Ewing Township relocated into Lawrence and stood by at the Lawrence Road firehouse. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Ed Budzinski | Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew: Ff. Shaun Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III | Crew: Ff. Martin Burch |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Robert Santello |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| TWO-ALARM NATURAL GAS LEAK |
| Date & Time: Friday, June 8, 2007 – 9:30 a.m. |
| Location: Princeton Pike at Franklin Corner Road, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: It was 9:21 a.m. when Lawrenceville Fire Co. was dispatched for a natural gas leak. Rescue 23’s crew arrived to find that contractors performing excavation work for the installation of a new water pipeline had accidentally struck and ruptured an underground 8-inch high-pressure gas main running beneath Princeton Pike. Because of the close proximity of the Lawrenceville Nursing Home and several other occupied businesses, Lawrence Road’s Engine 22 and Slackwood’s Snorkel 21 were special-called to the scene at 9:30 a.m. After assessing the situation, firefighters stretched several hoselines from Rescue 23 into a standby position. Engine 22 laid 300 feet of 5-inch hose to a hydrant outside the nursing home to supply Rescue 23. Firefighters in full turnout gear and SCBA were positioned on the hoselines while PSE&G crews worked to shut off the flow of leaking gas. Because the morning’s high heat and humidity made conditions brutal for the firefighters in full gear, additional manpower was called to the scene from Ewing Township's Pennington Road Fire Co. (Rescue 32), Hamilton Fire Co. of Hamilton Township (Engine 14-1), West Windsor Township's Princeton Junction Fire Co. (Engine 44), and Rescue 1, Ladder 1 and Engine 1 from the City of Trenton. Firefighters evacuated the wing of the nursing home closest to Princeton Pike, relocating residents to the opposite side of the building. About a half-dozen people were also evacuated from the nearby Wachovia Bank and the American Cancer Society office building. Princeton Pike was closed to traffic and firefighters and PSE&G utility workers equipped with portable meters were positioned inside the buildings to monitor air quality. Fresh crews were rotated to man the hoselines about every 15 minutes. It took more than 90 minutes for the damaged line to be capped and the gas leak stopped, but ultimately there were no injuries and no damage to the surrounding property. Engine 22 was back in quarters by 11:23 a.m. During the incident, Hamilton Fire Co’s Ladder 14 and Princeton Engine Co. #1’s Engine 61 stood by at the Lawrence Road firehouse and actually took in a fire alarm activation at Lawrence High School. Lawrence Road Ff. Charles Commini Sr. rode along with Engine 61 to the fire alarm to serve as a pilot and guide. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Capt. Ed Budzinski |
| Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III | Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon |
| Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
| Utility 22 |
| Paid Driver Robert Santello |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT |
| Date & Time: Sunday, June 10, 2007 – 9:10 p.m. |
| Location: 170 Millerick Avenue, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road Fire Co. was dispatched for an accident involving a car that had reportedly struck the residence. Firefighters arrived to find that a Chevrolet Prism had veered off the road and hit the home’s front porch. The driver was already out of the vehicle. Rescue 22’s crew checked the residence and saw only minimal structural damage. Nevertheless, a township building inspector was called out to the scene as a precaution. Rescue 22’s crew stood by on scene until the car was moved away from the home. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 9:36 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Assistant Chief John Britton | Driver: Ff. Patrick Kent |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera |
| Crew: Ff. Theresa Androvett | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Lawrence Road Fire Co. |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| TWO-ALARM STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Tuesday, June 12, 2007 – 9:12 p.m. |
| Location: 209 Pennington-Harbourton Road, Hopewell Township, N.J. |
| Details: It was 9:07 p.m. when Pennington Borough Fire Co. (Station 51) and Engine 52 from Hopewell Borough were toned out for a possible structure fire. Chief 51 arrived on scene to find a large barn fully-engulfed in flames on the Roman Farm. The barn, which measured about 75 feet by 30 feet and was filled with farm equipment, had apparently been struck by lightning. Box 51-60’s full first alarm was transmitted at 9:12 p.m., resulting in the dispatch of Union-Titusville’s Telesquirt 53, Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22, Tanker 52 and Tanker 53. Ladder Tower 23 from Lawrenceville was special-called to the scene at 9:16 p.m. At 9:31 p.m. the second alarm for tankers was requested, resulting in the dispatch of Tanker 35 (Griggstown Fire Co., Somerset County), Tanker 45 (Montgomery Fire Co. #1, Somerset County) and Tanker 71 (Upper Makefield Fire Co., Bucks County, Pa.). The crew from Rescue 22 stood by as the rapid intervention team. The building was a total loss but there were no injuries reported. Apparatus that operated on the scene included: Rescue 51, Tanker 51, Engine 51, Ladder Tower 51, Engine 52, Engine 52-1, Tanker 52, Telesquirt 53, Tanker 53, Rescue 22, Ladder Tower 23, Tanker 35, Tanker 45, and Tanker 71. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 11:01 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Capt. Michael Byrd | Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
| OVERTURNED VEHICLE |
| Date & Time: Saturday, June 16, 2007 – 11:36 p.m. |
| Location: Area of 151 Eggerts Crossing Road, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road Fire Co. firefighters were dispatched for an overturned vehicle with no entrapment. Rescue 22 and Chief Richard Farletta arrived to find a Nissan Altama sitting on its roof in the middle of the road in front of the National Guard Armory. The car, which had been occupied by a 53-year-old woman and her 15-year-old son, had drifted off the road and overturned after striking a fire hydrant. The hydrant was torn from the ground when it was hit by the car, causing water to gush out onto the road. Police said the crash occurred after the woman apparently fell asleep while driving. She and her son suffered only minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to Capital Health System at Fuld hospital in Trenton. Rescue 22’s crew applied speedie-dry to the roadway to soak up spilled fluids, then stood by with a charged 1.75-inch hoseline until the wreckage was removed by a tow truck. Firefighters then helped a Trenton Water Works employee turn a valve in the street to shut off the water flow. The valve proved difficult to turn and the water flow was not stopped until 12:45 a.m. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 12:50 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. | Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III |
| Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera | Crew: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| COVER ASSIGNMENT |
| Date & Time: Monday, June 18, 2007 – 2:17 p.m. |
| Location: Colonial Fire Co. (Station 18), 801 Kuser Road, Hamilton Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22 relocated into Hamilton Township to stand by at the Colonial firehouse while Station 18 firefighters and mutual aid crews battled a working structure fire at the Victoria Apartments in the 100 block of Estates Boulevard. The blaze, which was reportedly started by an unattended candle, was quickly knocked down and contained to a small area. No emergency calls were received during the cover assignment and Rescue 22 was back in quarters at Station 22 by 3:56 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Lawrence Road Fire Co. |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT |
| Date & Time: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 – 10:08 a.m. |
| Location: Lawrence Road (Route 206) by Skillman Avenue, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road Fire Co. volunteers were dispatched for a possible car fire secondary to a two-vehicle collision. The accident reportedly occurred when a Honda Accord that was traveling northbound attempted to make a left turn into the driveway of the ARC Mercer group home next to Rider University and, in doing, so collided with a Nissan Sentra that was going south. The collision propelled the northbound Honda off the road and onto the landscaping of the group home, where it came to rest. The southbound Nissan stopped in the road after the collision and the driver got out. But that woman, who was not injured, apparently failed to shift her transmission into park and her car started to move after she got out. The Nissan continued south on Lawrence Road for a block and a half before it veered off the road and came to rest next to a tree near Lombard Avenue. Dust from the Nissan’s activated airbag was mistaken to be smoke, resulting in the dispatch of Station 22. Rescue 22’s crew, finding no fire but significant front-end damage to the car, disconnected the battery of the Nissan as a precaution. The Honda’s driver suffered minor injuries and was transported by a Lawrence Township ambulance crew to Capital Health System at Mercer hospital for treatment. Police said the Honda’s driver was issued a ticket for careless driving. Rescue 22’s crew stood by until both vehicles were towed away. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 10:41 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello | |||||||||||||||
| Crew: Capt. Ed Budzinski | Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera | |||||||||||||||
| Crew: Ff. Richard Laird III | Crew: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe |
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| Photo copyright (C) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| HELICOPTER STANDBY |
| Date & Time: Friday, June 22, 2007 |
| Location: Rider University, 2083 Lawrence Road, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: A crew from Lawrence Road Fire Co., manning Rescue 22, stood by as members of the New Jersey State Police’s anti-terrorism unit rappelled from a helicopter during a demonstration performed at Rider University at 12:30 p.m. The exercise took place during the New Jersey American Legion Jersey Boys State civics conference, which was attended by more than 800 high school juniors from across the state. As part of the exercise, four troopers rappelled from the chopper, which hovered in front of the university’s library. The troopers and a K-9 unit then simulated the take down of a suspect from a motor vehicle. A flash-bang grenade was used during the demonstration. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello |
| Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| COVER ASSIGNMENT |
| Date & Time: Friday, June 22, 2007 – 7:51 p.m. |
| Location: Plainsboro Fire Co. (Station 49), Plainsboro Township, Middlesex County, N.J. |
| Details: Engine 22 relocated to Plainsboro Township to stand by at Station 49 while Plainsboro firefighters and mutual aid crews from East Windsor, West Windsor, Monroe, Cranbury, South Brunswick and elsewhere battled a two-alarm fire in an apartment building in the 800 block of Deer Creek Drive. No emergency calls were received during the cover assignment and Engine 22 was back in quarters at Station 22 by 9:33 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III | Crew: Lt. Evan Kutzin |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Michael Trimble |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
| RUBBISH FIRE |
| Date & Time: Saturday, June 23, 2007 – 4:59 p.m. |
| Location: 8 Rydal Drive, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road firefighters arrived to find a mattress engulfed in flames in the roadway, with no exposure problems. Telesquirt 22’s crew stretched a 1.75-inch hoseline and extinguished the fire using about 125 gallons of tank water. Telesquirt 22 was back in quarters by 5:15 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Lt. Evan Kutzin | Driver: Ff. Matthew Farletta |
| Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr. | Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Adzima | Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
| SEVERE THUNDERSTORM |
| Date & Time: Wednesday, June 27, 2007 – 10:46 p.m. |
| Location: 2572 Brunswick Avenue & 256 Glenn Avenue Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road Fire Co. members responded to two notable alarms during a severe thunder and lightning storm that swept through Mercer County. At 10:46 p.m. all three Lawrence Township fire companies were dispatched to the Accumed facility at 2572 Brunswick Pike for a possible structure fire. Crews arrived to find a smoke condition from an unknown source inside the building. As a precaution, Slackwood Chief Michael Oakley ordered Lawrence Road firefighters to lay a supply line out to a hydrant on Route 1. Rescue 22 laid 1,000 feet of 4-inch hose and, because the lay was so long, Engine 22 laid an additional 200 feet of 5-inch hose. Because of the smoke condition, additional mutual aid units were called to the scene from the Hamilton, Colonial and Prospect Heights fire companies. A full search of the building was carried out using thermal imaging cameras and firefighters eventually discovered that the smoke was coming from a burned-up motor in an air conditioning unit. This incident was still ongoing when all three Lawrence Township fire companies were toned out for another assignment for a house hit by lightning at 256 Glenn Avenue at 11:20 p.m. Several units, including Telesquirt 23, Colonial’s Aerial Tower 18 and Prospect Height’s Squirt 31, were released from Accumed to respond to Glenn Avenue. Telesquirt 22 responded from quarters and was the first apparatus to arrived. Telesquirt 22’s crew discovered a medium smoke condition inside the garage of the home and then found that the main electrical panel in the garage had burned up. A search was made of the interior and exterior with a thermal imaging camera. A hot spot, possibly from the lightning strike, was located with the camera along the roof line on the Side D exterior. The roof was laddered and a charged 1.75-inch hoseline from Telesquirt 22 was stretched into position. Rescue 23, meanwhile laid a 400-foot hoseline to supply Telesquirt 22. Firefighters then cut open a section of the roof and fascia board to check for fire extension. No fire was found and the hole was later covered with plastic sheeting. PSE&G shut off power to the house at the meter as a precaution and the resident was advised to contact an electrician to have repairs made. All Lawrence Road units were back in quarters from both incidents by 12:27 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr. | Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Assistant Chief John Britton | Driver: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. | Crew: Ff. Theresa Androvett |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Adzima | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Ed Budzinski | Driver: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Chris Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
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