 LAWRENCE ROAD FIRE CO.
NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Saturday, December 1, 2007 – 5:46 p.m. |
| Location: 2608 Princeton Pike, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Having been dispatched at 4:36 p.m. to 4330 Province Line Road for a smoke condition caused by careless cooking, various crews of Lawrence Township firefighters were wrapping up ventilation operations on the scene or were in the process of returning to their firehouses when Mercer County Central transmitted Box 21-10 at 5:14 p.m. and dispatched the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville fire companies for a structure fire at 2608 Princeton Pike. All available units immediately redirected to that address. At 5:16 p.m. Slackwood Fire Co. Safety Officer Jack Oakley arrived to find heavy smoke and fire showing from the rear of a two-story dwelling. Engine 22 was the first apparatus to arrive and commence an attack on the flames in the home’s kitchen using a 1.75-inch hoseline. Additional apparatus then arrived, including Telesquirt 22, Telesquirt 23, Engine 21, Snorkel 21 and Ladder Tower 23. Also responding to the scene were Ladder 14 from Hamilton Fire Co. and Engine 14-2 from Enterprise Fire Co., which were both dispatched at 5:24 p.m. Thanks to the aggressive interior attack made by firefighters, the blaze was contained to the rear of the home and was placed under control at 5:40 p.m. After helping with salvage and overhaul operations, all Lawrence Road firefighters were back in quarters at Station 22 by 7:17 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Evan Kutzin | Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr. |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Ed Budzinski | Driver: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr. |
| Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III | Crew: Ff. Theresa Androvett |
| Crew: Ff. Chris Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
| OVERTURNED VEHICLE |
| Date & Time: Sunday, December 2, 2007 – 4:20 p.m. |
| Location: Strawberry Street ramp to Route 1 South, City of Trenton, N.J. |
| Details: Slick road conditions from an all-day mix of snow, rain and sleet contributed to several traffic accidents in Mercer County, including one in which a car flipped onto its roof on the ramp leading from Strawberry Street to Route 1 South. It was 4:20 p.m. when Mercer County Central dispatched all three Lawrence Township fire companies to the area of Route 1 South and Whitehead Road for an overturned auto with unknown entrapment. Rescue 21 and Rescue 22 arrived in the area but were unable to find any accident. Both unit proceeded south on Route 1 and finally came upon the accident, which turned out to be just beyond the Lawrence border in the City of Trenton. The crew from Rescue 21 checked out the vehicle, while Rescue 22’s crew stood by. No entrapment and no injuries were found. The scene was turned over to Lawrence and Trenton police and all fire department units recalled. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 4:42 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. |
| Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr. | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
| Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. | Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik |
| Crew: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe | < |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Sunday, December 2, 2007 – 7:25 p.m. |
| Location: 1942 North Olden Avenue, Ewing Township, N.J. |
| Details: At 7:04 p.m. Mercer County Central dispatched crews from all three Ewing Township fire companies on Box 33-10 for a possible house fire at 1942 North Olden Avenue. Ewing firefighters arrived to find smoke showing from the roof of the one-story home. Hoselines were stretched inside and crews began searching for the source of the smoke. A supply line was laid to a hydrant, forcing police to close both sides of North Olden Avenue in the area. Fire was then discovered in the wall around the chimney. At 7:25 p.m. Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22 was dispatched to the scene as the rapid intervention team, and additional mutual aid was dispatched to cover Ewing’s firehouses. Rescue 22 reached the scene at 7:33 p.m. and assumed RIT duties. The fire was then declared under control at 7:36 p.m. The Red Cross was called out to assist the four residents (including a 3-month-old child) with temporary housing since the fire had rendered their home temporarily uninhabitable. At 7:53 p.m. Rescue 22 was relieved of RIT duties and recalled. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 8:04 p.m. Apparatus that operated on the scene included: Telesquirt 32, Engine 32, Ladder Tower 31, Engine 31, Engine 33, and Rescue 22. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. |
| Crew: Ff. Keith Kent | Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Wednesday, December 5, 2007 – 3:06 p.m. |
| Location: 209 Park Lane, Hamilton Township, N.J. |
| Details: At 2:51 p.m. Mercer County Central transmitted Box 14-10 for a reported house fire in the 200 block of Park Lane. Dispatched at that time were firefighters from Hamilton Township’s Hamilton (Station 14-1), Enterprise (Station 14-2), Rusling Hose (Station 13), DeCou Hose (Station 15) and Colonial (Station 18) fire companies. At 2:54 p.m. Deputy Chief 14-2 arrived to find heavy fire showing from the front of 209 Park Lane, which occupied one half of a 2.5-story duplex. A second alarm was immediately requested, resulting in the dispatch at 2:55 p.m. of Hamilton Township’s Mercerville (Station 12) and Nottingham (Station 17) fire companies and also Lawrence Township’s Slackwood Fire Co. (Station 21). The first apparatus to arrive were Ladder 13 at 2:55 p.m., Engine 14-1 at 2:57 p.m. and Engine 18 also at 2:57 p.m. Firefighters mounted an aggressive interior attack using multiple hoselines. Rescue 22 from Lawrence Road Fire Co. was dispatched at 3:06 p.m. after Command 14 special-called an additional engine company to the scene to serve as a rapid intervention team. At 3:09 p.m. an extra ladder company was requested and Slackwood’s Snorkel 21 was dispatched. Rescue 22 arrived on scene at 3:09 p.m. The blaze was officially declared under control at 3:30 p.m. Apparatus that operated on the fireground included: Engine 14-1, Engine 14-2, Engine 14-4, Ladder 14, Special Services 14, TAC 14, Engine 12, Ladder 13, Engine 15-2, Ladder Tower 17, Engine 18, Engine 21, Snorkel 21, Rescue 22 and Ambulance 111-4. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 3:55 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello |
| Crew: Capt. Michael Byrd | Crew: Ff. Michael Guala |
| Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Jim Macheda |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Friday, December 14, 2007 – 11:32 p.m. |
| Location: 146 Gainsboro Road, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Firefighters from Lawrence Road, Slackwood and Lawrenceville fire companies were dispatched on Box 22-10 at 11:32 p.m. for a possible structure fire. Telesquirt 22 arrived on scene at 11:35 p.m. to find an active fire burning in the exhaust fan of the kitchen of the 1.5-story home. Rags that had been stuffed into the fan to keep out the draft had ignited and flames had already spread to the cabinets above. A member of Telesquirt 22’s crew quickly knocked down the visible fire using a water extinguisher, as other firefighters stretched a 1.75-inch hoseline into the house. Fortunately, the hoseline proved to be unnecessary as firefighters, having opened up the surrounding wall, found no extension of fire beyond the fan and cabinetry. The blaze was declared under control at 11:41 p.m. Telesquirt 23 was recalled, while the crew from Snorkel 21 remained on location to assist with overhaul and ventilation. Telesquirt 22 was back in quarters by 12:21 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Assistant Chief John Britton | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Evan Kutzin | Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik |
| Crew: Ff. Keith Kent | Crew: Ff. Michael Guala |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Saturday, December 15, 2007 – 12:27 a.m. |
| Location: 18 Skillman Avenue, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Lawrence Road Fire Co. would like to congratulate a Rider University instructor with helping to save the lives of his neighbors after their home caught fire. Shawn Kildea, a Rider communications instructor who teaches courses in television production, called 911 after spotting smoke and flames coming from the roof of his neighbors’ home at 18 Skillman Avenue shortly before 12:30 a.m. Unbeknownst to the sleeping family, a crack inside their chimney had allowed embers from the fire they had enjoyed in their fireplace the previous evening to start a fire burning in their attic space. The fire had smoldered in the attic for quite some time, slowly burning through some rafters. But having finally burned through the roof to fresh air, it was increasing in intensity just as Kildea spotted it. After calling 911, Kildea ran over to the burning house and pounded on the front door until he had awakened the neighbors. The family – which included a husband and wife and their two daughters, ages 4 and 6 – then fled to outside to safety. A crew of Lawrence Road volunteers, having just returned with Telesquirt 22 a few minutes earlier from a house fire on Gainsboro Road, were still in their firehouse when Mercer County Central transmitted Box 22-20 at 12:27 a.m. and dispatched all three Lawrence Township fire companies to 18 Skillman Avenue. Telesquirt 22 responded immediately and arrived on scene at 12:30 a.m. to find heavy smoke and fire showing from the roof next to the chimney of the one-story home. The homeowner, standing on a ladder, was trying to fight the fire using his garden hose. With confirmation of a working fire, Mercer County Central at 12:32 a.m. dispatched Rescue 32 from Ewing Township’s Pennington Road Fire Co. as the rapid intervention team. Telesquirt 22’s crew stretched a 1.75-inch hoseline into the house and began to attack the fire after gaining access to the attic space via a set of pull-down stairs. Telesquirt 23 arrived at 12:33 a.m. and laid a large diameter supply line in to Telesquirt 22 from a hydrant on Route 206. Engine 22 reached the scene at 12:35 a.m., followed by Engine 21 at 12:37 a.m., Rescue 22 at 12:37 a.m., and Ladder Tower 23 at 12:39 a.m. The bulk of the fire was knocked down by 12:39 a.m., at which time Rescue 32 was recalled. Rescue 22’s crew was designated as the RIT while crews opened part of the roof to check for fire extension. The blaze was officially placed under control at 12:45 a.m. During firefighting and overhaul operations, salvage tarps were used to cover furniture and other items directly below the burned area to protect them from water damage from the hoselines. Engine 21, Engine 22 and Ladder Tower 23 were recalled at 1:47 a.m., while Telesquirt 23 stayed on location until 2 a.m. The crews from Telesquirt 22 and Rescue 22 remained on scene to aid fire investigators and then to cover up the holes in the roof with plastic sheeting. Telesquirt 22 and Rescue 22 were finally back in quarters by 2:48 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Assistant Chief John Britton | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Evan Kutzin | Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik |
| Crew: Ff. Keith Kent | Crew: Ff. Michael Guala |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Ed Budzinski | Driver: Ff. Brian Laue |
| Crew: Ff. Martin Burch | Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Joseph Dlabik Sr. |
| Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III | Crew: Ff. Charles Commini Jr. |
| Crew: Ff. Chris Dlabik | Crew: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe |
| Crew: Ff. Andrew Fosina |
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| Photo copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Ratcliffe |
| For additional photos from this incident, click here |
| OVERTURNED VEHICLE |
| Date & Time: Saturday, December 15, 2007 – 3:43 a.m. |
| Location: Darrah Lane, near Fieldboro Drive, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Not long after returning home to their beds following the two structure fires earlier in the evening, Lawrence Road Fire Co. volunteers were once again called out to duty when, at 3:43 a.m., Mercer County Central dispatched a full rescue assignment for a reported overturned vehicle with unknown entrapment in the 100 block of Darrah Lane between Fieldboro Drive and Birchwood Knoll. At 3:46 a.m. Slackwood Fire Co. Deputy Chief Robert Santello arrived on scene to find a Jeep Cherokee sitting on its roof with its driver already out. The Jeep apparently flipped over after its driver lost control and struck a parked car. Lawrence Road Deputy Chief John Fleming arrived at 3:48 a.m. to assume command and, with no entrapment, recalled both Slackwood’s Rescue 21 and Rescue 23 from Lawrenceville Fire Co. Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22 was ordered to proceed in to the scene and stand by. Rescue 22 arrived at 3:49 a.m. and the crew set up their light tower to illuminate the scene while police officers conducted a field sobriety test on the Jeep’s driver. The young man was soon arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and was taken away in handcuffs. He was later taken by ambulance to a hospital in Trenton to be treated for minor injuries he received in the crash. Rescue 22’s crew remained on scene until both the overturned Jeep and the parked car that had been hit by the Jeep were removed by tow trucks. Rescue 22 was back in quarters by 4:55 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Ff. Michael Ratcliffe |
| Crew: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr. |
| 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 |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Thursday, December 20, 2007 – 1:35 p.m. |
| Location: Homasote Co., 900 Lower Ferry Road, Ewing Township, N.J. |
| Details: At 1:30 p.m. Mercer County Central dispatched units from the West Trenton (Station 33), Pennington Road (Station 32) and Prospect Heights (Station 31) fire companies on Box 33-10 for a possible fire at the Homasote Co. Engine 33 reached the scene at 1:34 p.m. to find heavy smoke showing from the roof of the factory. The full first alarm was immediately requested, resulting in the dispatch at 1:35 p.m. of Lawrence Road’s Rescue 22 for rapid intervention team duties. Rescue 22 arrived at 1:48 p.m. While Ewing firefighters attended to the fire, which involved materials burning inside one of the recycling plant’s large industrial dryers, Rescue 22’s crew was ordered to stand by with the crew from Ladder Tower 33 to respond to the scene to cover Ewing Township in case any other emergencies were to be reported. Ultimately, no other assignments were received and the fire was under control by 2 p.m. Apparatus that operated on the fireground included: Engine 33, Ladder Tower 33, Telesquirt 32, Rescue 32, Engine 31, Ladder Tower 31, Rescue 22 and Ambulance 139-1. Rescue 22 was back in quarters in Lawrence Township by 2:12 p.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Rescue 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Paid Driver Robert Santello |
| Crew: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Crew: Ff. Adam Rivera |
| Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon | Crew: Ff. Keith Kent |
| STRUCTURE FIRE |
| Date & Time: Tuesday, December 25, 2007 – 8:31 a.m. |
| Location: 127 Merline Avenue, Lawrence Township, N.J. |
| Details: Without a moment’s hesitation, Lawrence Road Fire Co. volunteers rushed away from their families early Christmas morning to answer a call from help from a family whose home had caught fire. It was 8:31 a.m. when Box 22-10 was transmitted by Mercer County Central and the Lawrence Road, Slackwood and Lawrenceville fire companies were dispatched to 127 Merline Avenue for a possible house fire. At 8:34 a.m., Lawrence Road Deputy Chief John Fleming arrived on scene to find heavy smoke issuing from single-story home. Fleming confirmed a working fire in the home’s basement and immediately established command. Telesquirt 22 reached the scene at 8:37 a.m. and its crew immediately stretched an 1.75-inch hoseline into the home and down to the basement to commence fire attack. Engine 22 arrived at 8:38 a.m., followed by Snorkel 21 at 8:39 a.m., Telesquirt 23 at 8:41 a.m., Engine 21 at 8:43 a.m. and Ladder Tower 23 at 8:44 a.m. At 8:45 a.m. Rescue 32 from Ewing Township’s Pennington Road Fire Co. was dispatched to the scene for rapid intervention team duties. Rescue 32 arrived on scene at 8:55 a.m. just as Chief Richard Farletta (who by then had assumed command) declared the fire under control. The blaze was later found to have been sparked by a problem with the home’s heater. Actual fire damage was contained to a small area of the basement but the rest of the house sustained smoke damage. All Station 22 units was back in quarters by 9:39 a.m. |
| Responding LRFC Personnel |
| Telesquirt 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Michael Byrd | Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik |
| Crew: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr. | Crew: Lt. Richard Laird III |
| Crew: Ff. Ryan Dlabik |
| Engine 22 |
| Officer: Capt. Edward Kitchen | Driver: Ff. Charles Commini Sr. |
| Crew: Ff. Keith Kent | Crew: Ff. Andrew Fosina |
| Utility 22 |
| Officer: Assistant Chief John Britton | Driver: Ff. Steve Adzima |
| Crew: Ff. Steve Hodgdon |
| Car 22 |
| Chief Richard Farletta |
| Car 22-1 |
| Deputy Chief John Fleming |
| Personal Vehicle |
| Fire Police Capt. Robert Hazen | Fire Police Officer Bud Burch |
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