STRUCTURE FIRE

Date & Time: Wednesday, July 4, 2007 – 9:04 a.m.

Location: 15 Walton Avenue, Ewing Township, N.J.

Details: Ewing Township firefighters were busy preparing for their town’s annual Independence Day parade when the tones dropped for a possible structure fire at 15 Walton Avenue. Dispatched as part of the initial assignment at 8:59 a.m. were units from all three Ewing fire companies: Pennington Road (Station 32), Prospect Heights (Station 31) and West Trenton (Station 33). Pennington Road Deputy Chief Matt Kalnas arrived on scene at 9:02 a.m. to find heavy smoke and fire showing from a 1.5-story single family home. With confirmation of a working fire, Mercer County Central at 9:04 a.m. also dispatched Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22 as the rapid intervention team. At 9:05 a.m., Pennington Road Chief Don Young special-called an extra engine and ladder from Lawrence Township’s Slackwood (Station 21) and Lawrenceville (Station 23) fire companies. Rescue 22 arrived on scene at 9:13 a.m. and the crew reported to the command post as the RIT. Ewing crews mounted an aggressive interior attack with 2.5-inch and 1.75-inch lines and quickly knocked down the bulk of the fire. The blaze was under control by 9:23 a.m. The second floor was destroyed, while the first floor was heavily damaged by fire, smoke and water. Investigators later determined that carelessly discarded smoking materials were to blame for starting the fire on the second floor. Apparatus that operated on scene were: Telesquirt 32, Rescue 32, Ladder Tower 31, Engine 33, Engine 33-1, Rescue 33, Rescue 22, Engine 21 and Telesquirt 23. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 10:19 a.m.

Responding LRFC Personnel

Rescue 22

Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd	Driver: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr.
Crew: Ff. Steven Amiott	Crew: Ff. Shaun Dlabik
Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik	Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera

Car 22

Chief Richard Farletta

Car 22-1

Assistant Chief John Britton

All photos copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe