PLAINSBORO — A two-alarm fire caused heavy damage to a house on Plainsboro Road and left it uninhabitable early Wednesday morning, according to Plainsboro Township officials.
The eight occupants of the house — five adults and three juveniles — escaped from the house before police and firefighters arrived, according to the Plainsboro Police Department. One of the occupants was treated for smoke inhalation.
Three police officers were sent to the house at 511 Plainsboro Road — between Dey and Schalks Crossing roads — at 12:50 a.m. to check on a reported fire, police said. The Plainsboro Fire Co. was dispatched a few minutes later, and upgraded the fire to a two-alarm fire.
“The call came in as an active fire. There was heavy fire coming out of the back of the house. We (upgraded) it to a two-alarm fire,” Plainsboro Fire Chief Wagner said, because more manpower was needed to fight the blaze.
About 50 firefighters responded from the Plainsboro Fire Co. and neighboring fire departments, Chief Wagner said. It took the firefighters about an hour to bring the fire under control. The last fire truck left the scene around 5 a.m.
Mutual aid fire companies from Lawrence, East Windsor, Cranbury, Monroe and South Brunswick townships responded, along with fire companies from Hightstown and Kingston. The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Fire Department and the Plainsboro Rescue Squad also responded.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by Plainsboro Township Fire Marshal John Petrino, the Plainsboro Township Police Department and the Middlesex County fire marshals.
