STRUCTURE FIRE

Date & Time: Wednesday, November 21, 2007 – 2:44 p.m.

Location: 46 Stonicker Drive, Lawrence Township, N.J.

Details: At 2:44 p.m. Mercer County Central transmitted Box 21-20 and dispatched crews from all three Lawrence Township fire companies for a possible structure fire. At 2:47 p.m. Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Jack Oakley (Deputy 20) arrived on location to find a working fire in the den at the rear of the two-story dwelling. Investigators later determined that a crack in the mortar of the fireplace in the den had allowed embers from the fireplace to ignite a fire in the surrounding wall. Engine 22, Telesquirt 23 and Engine 21-1 all reached the scene at 2:50 p.m. Engine 22 took a position at the front of the house. While Engine 22’s crew advanced a 1.75-inch hoseline into the dwelling, while Engine 22’s driver secured a water supply from a nearby hydrant. As soon as they opened up the wall next to the fireplace, firefighters encountered heavy fire. Fortunately, they were able to quickly knock down the flames using the hoseline. Crews then opened up more of the wall to check for fire extension. The crew from Telesquirt 22 (which arrived at 2:54 p.m., followed by Snorkel 21 at 2:56 p.m.) raised a ladder to check the den roof and chimney stack. With no extension found, the fire was declared under control at 3 p.m. After helping with overhaul operations, all Lawrence Road firefighters were back in quarters by 4:10 p.m.

Responding LRFC Personnel

Engine 22

Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd	Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello
Crew: Ff. Michael Trimble	Crew: Ff. Matthew Farletta
Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon

Telesquirt 22

Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen	Driver: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe
Crew: Capt. Ed Budzinski	Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera

Car 22-1

Deputy Chief John Fleming

All photos copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe