A report of smoke in a garage at a Ewing Street home was called in at 7:14 p.m. Dec. 26. It was determined the smoke was caused by the water heater unit that ignited the operator’s manual left on top of it. The burning papers were extinguished by firefighters. An investigation was conducted by the Fire Marshal’s Office.
Firefighters responded to a home on Meadowbrook Drive at 3:05 p.m. Dec. 26 to investigate a report of smoke in the basement. Crews did not see or smell smoke in the basement or anywhere else, but checked the house with meters and thermal imaging cameras to find possible hidden fire that would have caused smoke. No smoke or fire was found in the house.
The driver of a tractor-trailer truck reported a fire after seeing smoke coming from the rear trailer brakes at 5:30 a.m. Dec. 26 near the Princeton Police Department. The driver put out the fire with a dry chemical fire extinguisher. When firefighters arrived, they did not see any smoke or fire. The brakes and trailer area were checked with a thermal imaging camera, but the area had cooled down.
Ridgeview Road was closed off at 9:13 p.m. Dec. 15 after reports of a transformer fire were called in. Firefighters discovered the transformer on the utility pole was on fire. The road was closed until PSE&G arrived and turned off the power to the utility pole.
Firefighters answered a call for mutual aid from West Windsor Township at 7:38 a.m. Dec. 14 after smoke was reported inside an apartment at the Extended Stay hotel on Route 1 in West Windsor. The investigation revealed that the smoke was caused by a cooking mishap. The area was ventilated to get rid of the smoke.
Fumes were reported at a Billie Ellis Lane home at 5:32 p.m. Dec. 14. Firefighters checked the house with gas detection meters, but nothing was detected.
The Princeton University Public Safety Department reported smoke in a third floor stairwell at Wilcox Hall on the Princeton University campus at 6:22 a.m. Dec. 4. The smoke was found to have been caused by a control module in a HVAC (heating, ventilations, air conditioning) handler that had burned up. Firefighters arriving on scene to investigate observed smoke, but no fire.