The fire is not considered suspicious in nature
By John Tredrea, Staff Writer
Damage from an early Monday morning residential fire on Maddock Road in the Titusville area of Hopewell Township was mainly confined to a portion of the attic, police said.
No injuries resulted from the fire, which occurred at the home of Eric and Nancy Weinstein.
The fire is not considered suspicious in nature, said township Lt. Lance Maloney. He said investigators believe an electrical problem was the cause of the blaze.
At 2:23 a.m. Monday, the Weinsteins were home with their two young daughters and awakened by the fire alarm in the house. At the same time, the Weinsteins’ alarm company called the Hopewell Township Police Department to report the fire alarm activation.
Mr. Weinstein located smoke in an attached garage (which is used for storage) of the home and dialed 9-1-1. Mr. Weinstein and his family then evacuated the residence and waited for the emergency response. The Hopewell Township Police Department and Union Fire Department were immediately dispatched.
Officer Vincent Amabile arrived on the scene and noticed heavy smoke coming from the roof above the garage of the ranch-style house. Mr. Weinstein was able to drive his car from a second attached garage and had his family stay in the car as fire apparatus arrived.
The fire was brought under control by the Union Fire Company, under the command of Fire Chief Bryan Malkiewicz. Other responding fire companies included the Pennington Fire Company, Hopewell Fire Department, West Trenton Fire Department, West Amwell Fire Department, Lambertville Fire Department and the Yardley/Makefield Fire Department.
The fire was contained to the attic area above the garage and playroom, which had heat, smoke and water damage. The damage to the rest of the home was limited mainly to smoke damage.
Detective Michael Simonelli of the Hopewell Township Police Department, Chief Matthew Martin and Capt. Ian Malik of the Hopewell Valley Bureau of Fire Services, Detective Lloyd Mathis of the Mercer County prosecutor’s office and Mercer County Fire Marshal George Lenhardt are investigating.
The fire is not considered suspicious and is believed to be electrical in nature.