No one injured in Irwin Place blaze.
By: Lea Kahn
Careless smoking was the cause of a fire that damaged a house on Irwin Place at 10:44 a.m. Jan. 12, according to police.
Joseph Nalbone, who owned the house, told police he had gone upstairs when he heard the smoke alarm go off. When he went downstairs to investigate, he discovered fire and heavy smoke in the den.
Mr. Nalbone tried to put out the fire with a bucket of water, but the fire was out of control. He called the Lawrence Township Police Department to report the fire, and then left the house.
The house suffered fire damage to the den at the western end of the structure, and smoke damage to the rest of the house, police said. No one was injured in the fire.
An investigation revealed that the cause of the fire was careless smoking, police said. Mr. Nalbone had been smoking a cigar in the den before he went upstairs.
Lawrence Township fire marshals Dale Robbins and Cynthia Buxton and Mercer County Fire Marshal George Lenhardt investigated the fire.

