Teens Set Fires Causing $1M In Damage In Princeton: PD

PRINCETON, NJ — Two Princeton juveniles have been charged with setting five arson fires causing about $1 million in damage at Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Studythis past weekend.

The fires all occurred between Friday, April 5 and Monday , April 8, Princeton Police reported.

The five separate fires were located in the following areas: The 12th floor of Fine Hall, Jadwin Hall, two locations within Princeton University Stadium and the West Building on the campus of the Institute for Advanced Study.

Along with property damage caused by the fire at Fine Hall, a local fire fighter was also treated for injuries they received while fighting that fire, police said.

The juvenile suspects were arrested at about 12:40 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, after a caller to Princeton Police Headquarters reported two males starting a fire in the wooded area behind Holly House, police said.

Officers and detectives from Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, the Princeton Police Department and Princeton University Department of Public Safety tracked the two juveniles to a local home with the assistance of the New Jersey State Police Aviation Bureau.

Classes set to take place at Princeton University's Fine Hall were relocated as a result of the fire and are set to resume in the building on Thursday. In the meantime, classes usually held in Fine Hall will be held in the alternate locations on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Offices in the building will reopen to faculty, graduate students and staff at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

"The fire was contained to a classroom on the 12th floor. Sprinkler water runoff affected that floor and most of those below it," the university stated.

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