THREE-ALARM STRUCTURE FIRE

Date & Time: Friday, November 21, 2008 – 8 p.m.

Location: 14 Pond View Lane, Hopewell Township, N.J.

Details: At 8 p.m. Mercer County Central dispatched Rescue 22 from Lawrence Road Fire Co. to respond as cascade support to the scene of a three-alarm house fire. It was 7:14 p.m. when Mercer Country Central transmitted Box 53-20’s first alarm after Hopewell Township police received a 911 call from the owner of 14 Pond View Lane reporting she had a fire in her laundry room. Police and firefighters arrived to find the large two-story house charged with smoke and flames venting from the window of the first-floor laundry. The second alarm was quickly sounded, followed by the third alarm for manpower at 7:40 p.m. The blaze was fought by crews from Union-Titusville, Pennington, Hopewell, West Trenton, Pennington Road, Lawrenceville, and Eagle-New Hope (Pa.) fire companies. Tankers from Upper Makefield (Pa.) and several Somserset County fire companies were recalled prior to arrival on the scene. Rescue 22 reached the fireground at 8:17 p.m. While the rest of Rescue 22’s crew stood by as part of the manpower pool, Ff. Shaun Dlabik used Rescue 22’s cascade system to refill more than two dozen SCBA bottles. Ultimately, several cats and dogs were rescued from the home and the fire was officially declared under control at 8:09 p.m. Damage to the house was significant but no injuries were reported. Apparatus that operated on the scene included: Telesquirt 53, Tanker 53, Engine 53, Tanker 52, Engine 52, Ladder Tower 51, Engine 51, Engine 33, Ladder Tower 33, Ladder Tower 23, Rescue 32, Engine 46, and Rescue 22. Rescue 22 remained on scene refilling SCBA bottles until 9:35 p.m., and then returned to quarters by 9:48 p.m.

Responding LRFC Personnel

Rescue 22

Officer: Lt. Joseph Dlabik Jr.	Driver: Ff. Shaun Dlabik
Crew: Ff. Steven Hodgdon	Crew: Ff. Kent Kent
Crew: Ff. Michael Byrd

All photos copyright (c) 2008 by Michael Ratcliffe