Lawrence Firefighters Help Battle Ewing House Blaze

Lawrence Township firefighters responded into Ewing Township to help battle a house fire, during which a 61-year-old woman was rescued from a second-floor window, this morning (Wednesday, May 18).

It was 8:04 a.m. when Ewing Township police, emergency medical personnel and Ewing’s three fire companies – Prospect Heights, Pennington Road and West Trenton – were alerted to the blaze at 1602 7th St.

Heavy smoke was visible in the sky when firefighters left the Prospect Heights firehouse a couple blocks away, so “mutual aid” was immediately requested from Lawrence Township firefighters, Prospect Heights Chief Jeff Lenarski said.

Knowing that the 61-year-old woman was trapped in the burning house, first-arriving police officers tried to make their way inside but the smoke was too great, Lenarski said. A police officer then spotted the woman hanging out a second-floor window at the rear of the home, he said.

The crew of Prospect Heights’ first fire engine – Capt. Mike Anderson and Firefighters Bill Erney III and Rob Horlowski – raised a ladder and brought the woman down to safety with the help of Ewing Police Officers Rich Smith, Kevin Hoarn, Mike Terman and Jim Calnon, according to Lenarski.

He said the woman was transported by ambulance to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton to be treated for minor injuries, while one of the police officers was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital-Hamilton for minor injuries he suffered in a fall.

The blaze was brought under control by 8:19 a.m. by Ewing firefighters, with the assistance of career and volunteer firefighters from Lawrence Township. A Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Service ambulance crew was also on the scene rendering care to the injured.

An investigation conducted by Ewing Township police and fire officials, along with the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mercer County Fire Marshal’s Office, determined that the blaze started in a rear room on the first floor and was likely caused by a faulty electrical cord, Lenarski said.

While the fire itself was contained to the first floor, the entire house was damaged by smoke and heat and was left temporarily uninhabitable. The displaced residents – including several adults and three children – planned to stay with relatives until the home can be repaired, Lenarski said.