Garage fire under investigation

Gillespie family awakened at 4:19 a.m. by the fire alarm in the house

By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
   No one was injured in an early morning residential fire on Oct. 22 that was confined to the house’s attached garage, Hopewell Township police said.
   Lt. Lance Maloney said the fire occurred at the 131 Harbourton-Woodsville Road residence of Richard and Donna Gillespie, who were home with their two teenage daughters when the family was awakened at 4:19 a.m. by the fire alarm in the house. The activated smoke detector was located in the attached garage, which was filled with smoke.
   The Hopewell Township Police Department and Hopewell Fire Department were immediately dispatched.Officers John Ferner and Vincent Amabile put the family in their patrol vehicles as the firetrucks were arriving. The fire was brought under control by the Hopewell Fire Department within minutes. Other responding fire companies included Pennington Fire and Union Fire of Titusville.
   The fire was limited to the attached garage, which sustained minor damage from smoke and the water used to put out the fire. The vehicles inside the garage sustained smoke damage. There was no reported damage to the house.
   Detective Kevin Zorn of the Hopewell Township Police Department and Capt. Ian Malik, of the Hopewell Valley Bureau of Fire Services, are investigating. The fire is believed to have been caused by materials discarded into a trash can that spontaneously combusted.