By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
A house at 175 Arcadia Ave., in the Eldridge Park neighborhood, was damaged by a fire Tuesday night that started in an attic crawlspace on the second floor of the house, according to Lawrence Township officials.
The fire was reported at 6:35 p.m., and volunteer firefighters from the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville fire companies were sent to the scene. Arcadia Avenue is a dead-end street, located off Rolfe Avenue.
Although the cause of the fire is still under investigation, it may have been caused by an electrical malfunction near the heater in the attic crawlspace, said Lawrence Township Fire Marshal Dale Robbins. The homeowner reported that the circuit breaker had tripped earlier in the day, and when he tried to re-set it, it would not hold.
The homeowner left the house to pick up his child from school, and when he returned home, he found the house was full of smoke, Mr. Robbins said. That’s when the Police Department received a 911 call about the fire.
When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, they saw smoke that had drifted into the street, said Lawrence Road Fire Co. Capt. Ryan Dlabik. Firefighters entered the house and found smoke on the first floor.
They went up the steps with a fire hose to the second floor and encountered heavy smoke and heat, Capt. Dlabik said. They found the access panel to the attic crawlspace and located the fire. They quickly put it out, he said.

