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At 1:25 p.m. all three Lawrence Township fire companies along with Ewing Township’s Prospect Heights Fire Co. were dispatched for a possible structure fire. Slackwood Fire Co. Chief Michael Oakley arrived on scene at 1:28 p.m. to find smoke issuing from the second floor of the home. With confirmation of a working fire, Mercer County Central dispatched Ladder 14 from Hamilton Fire Co. as the rapid intervention team. Engine 21-1 and Engine 22 both reached the scene at 1:30 p.m. and firefighters stretched a 1.75-inch hoseline inside. As they fought the blaze, Engine 31, Squirt 31 and Ladder Tower 23 arrived with additional manpower. The bulk of the fire was knocked down by 1:35 p.m. The fire was under control and all units with the exception of Engine 21-1, Engine 22 and Ladder Tower 23 were recalled by 1:46 p.m. Investigators soon determined that a malfunction of the tumbler mechanism in a combination washer/clothes dryer unit had started the blaze in the laundry closet on the second floor. A resident of the home reported to firefighters that she had started the dryer at about 10:30 a.m. and then left the house. When her husband arrived home in the afternoon, he heard a smoke detector sounding on the second floor. Going upstairs to investigate, he saw flames coming from the dryer and burning up the wall. The man emptied a portable dry chemical extinguisher on the fire, then fled the house and called 911 on his cell phone. Fire damage was contained to the area around the laundry closet, but the entire second floor sustained smoke damage and both floors sustained water damage. Engine 22 was released at 2:19 p.m. and was back in quarters by 2:29 p.m.
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