WTFD Provides Mutual Aid for 3 Alarm Fire in East Windsor
East Windsor blaze leaves 54 homeless
Monday, April 15, 2002
The Trenton Times, http://www.nj.com
By T.A. PARMALEE
EAST WINDSOR - Fifty-four people were left homeless and eight apartments were gutted early yesterday morning by a fast-moving fire that swept through a building in the Village East Apartments, fire officials said.
Two firefighters were injured, but all residents escaped unharmed, authorities said.
The fire erupted about 1 a.m. in Building F, a two-story apartment structure on Abbington Drive, said Carl Dye Jr., chief of East Windsor Fire Co. 2. It took nearly 3 1/2 hours to bring the blaze under control.
When firefighters arrived, two apartments were ablaze and flames were moving into a third unit, Dye said. About five minutes later, flames were shooting through the roofs of the attached apartments, he said.
Police did an excellent job of evacuating the building, which had 24 units, all but one of which were occupied, Dye said.
Besides the eight gutted apartments, several others were damaged by water and smoke and no one was allowed to stay in the building yesterday, police said.
Arriving firefighters, believing a woman might be trapped inside, attacked the blaze aggressively. But police making phone calls discovered the woman was at work in New York.
A Cranbury firefighter suffered a fractured wrist when he fell from a ladder while attacking the fire, police said. A second firefighter from West Windsor was hit by falling debris, hurting his shoulder and neck.
Both firefighters were taken to local hospitals where they were treated and released, Dye said. No other firefighters suffered injuries and no apartment residents were hurt, he said.
Once firefighters learned no one was trapped in the building, they shifted their attack to the outside of the building, trying to prevent it from extending into surrounding apartment buildings, Dye said. Three additional buildings were evacuated, he said.
Two cats were rescued from the fire, but Dye was unsure if any pets were killed.
The fire went to three alarms and scores of firefighters from surrounding companies responded to the blaze as well as ambulance and first aid squads.
The largest obstacle firefighters had in fighting the fire was getting hoses to the apartments, Dye said. The building sits in the middle of the complex and most hoses had to be stretched at least 200 feet, he said.
``It was a very fast-moving fire - fast-moving and stubborn,'' Dye said. ``It was very tough getting in front of it and keeping it in front of us.''
According to Paul Carden, director of emergency services with the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey, many of the residents lost nearly everything.
The Red Cross found housing for 39 people from 18 families. The 39 people included seven children, Carden said. The remaining residents made housing arrangements on their own, he said.
``Most of them have been placed in a nearby hotel,'' Carden said. ``We are helping with motel meals and clothing and have helped replace prescriptions and eyeglasses.''
Red Cross workers remained at the site from 3 a.m. to 2 p.m., feeding displaced residents and bringing in trained mental health volunteers to help the families.
``Obviously it's a very emotional time for them,'' he said.
Smoke detectors in the building did sound but the building had no sprinkler system, Dye said.
The fire remains under investigation by fire officials and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, but it was not considered suspicious as of yesterday, officials said.
Photos By: Chris Weltner, Millstone Twp. FD.
