The residents of the Centex neighborhood are curious about the delay in response from our local volunteers. Monroe and Cranbury fire departments were on the scene before EW or Hightstown. Not very consoling to residents at all.

My prayers go out to the family, glad to hear that it's only structural damage and that nobody was hurt.

I live down right over there and we heard loud booms around 10pm but we thought they were fireworks because there were so many. Do they know what the cause was?

so glad everyone got out ok, but 25 minutes for the firetrucks to arrive is unacceptable, i practically watched the whole house burn down before i saw a drop of water on it

These are VOLuNTEER fire cOmpanies . If you would like faster response let the township know that we need a paid firehouse like on Monroe, Robbinsvile and other surrounding towns. These volunteers take time from their families to help the community with no benefits or pay - so thank you for being there when duty calls. We should be greatful they were there and the adjacent houses didn't go down also.

Ed just to let you know it only toke the fire company's about 8 mins to get on scene . And if you think that is long then why don't you join the fire dept and u can learn something

It's a miracle no one was hurt, scary pics. Thank you fire fighters.

For the fire to get that out of control maybe look at cause of fire and not get on a bunch of VOLUNTEER fire fighters for not being quick enough. I do believe they are always willing to take on more volunteers to improve response issues that everyone has after the fact. On the holiday well everyone else was sleeping off their beers and burgers these guys got up ran out and did what they volunteer to.

If I lived in Centex I would be a little more worried about the cause of the fire, like was it a building problem that others may have? I would be grateful that my taxes aren't even higher because there are volunteer professionals doing what others get paid to do.
Thank you to all our VOLUNTEERS in both EW and Hightstown!!!!

Thank you to those standing up for our firefighters. If the naysayers have such strong opinions, maybe they can spend a few hours in turnout gear fighting fires and get back to us. While you and your family are running out to escape, these guys are running in to save you, your pets and your memories. They don't do it for glory. They do it to help out their fellow neighbors. Such is the life of a volunteer, driven by service and self sacrifice. Show some appreciation.

For one thing Ed I was there and I am a firefighter think you need Pics does not tell the whole story

Here is video of the fire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYk5l5oAGkw

There are things we need to look for before the truck park if you park it right in front of the house it wiil burn the paint off the trucks

The real concern here is why it took this long for the residents to see the problem with response time , the loss of property can speek for itself . Robbinsville is always there to put the fires out in East Windsor. Another problem is that they do not call them sooner to put water on the fire before it gets that big. People need to get with the times and start additional help immediately and not wait for someone to realize it is a true emergency.

ThAnks Dave for all you're support

Just to set everyone straight about this issue...the first arriving companies took 7 minutes from time of dispatch. Ten minutes from the time of the 9-1-1 call was received. The first arriving apparatus was hightstown ladder 41 and robbinsville engine 40. And Squirt 42 arrived a few minutes afterward. The crews had several lines on the ground and a water supply established in minute after the arrival.So for everyone who said it took 25 minutes for a apparatus to get there, that east windsor 1 was the first on scene you are wrong....these are the fact and true fact of someone that was there and listened and watched the whole thing.

And as far as why the house burned like it did and so fast, maybe all of you as homeowner should look at how homes are being built now a days. That was a lightweight construction home. Like all of them in that development and in most in the area.They burn fast and hot. Not to mention the contains in houses now a days as well. For being on scene as quick as the companies did both volunteer and career they did the best they could with the situation that was presented.

And at ED look at picture 23 and then at picture 25. Thats ladder 41 arriving and then being the first master stream or aerial device to go into service on the scene. That was placed in service 3 minutes after arrival. Thats the crew getting off pulling hose setting up the apparatus and climbing the ladder to put water on the fire in roughly 100 Lbs of gear.

Agreed that the fire volunteers did a great job of keeping it safe and contained. Thanks a lot for that !

Couple of points:
- I would be curious to know what caused the fire. I would be more worried if it is a random fire, as opposed to a specific cause. We did some hear fire works late in the evening, hope it didn't cause the fire later on.

- I would be very supportive of having a paid fire company, if that is an option. Schools are not getting any better, we might as well use our tax money to keep our families safe.

The PD dispatch only station 42 initially. Thats all the police department does is the thing east windsor station. When the county dispatched it it went right to a first alarm and then the chief called a second alarm upon arrival. And yes robbinsville is a paid house but that has no point on the matter. A all volunteer house arrived at the same time as a paid company. Were all firefighters period.

Although this house was tragically lost, I have to say that all of the volunteers did a fantastic job!

A big THANK YOU to all who helped save the occupants of that house, and for saving the surrounding houses, including mine.

When we attended the Memorial Day Parade, we had no idea that these same people were just hours away from saving lives and our property.

This could have been much, much worse. Everybody SURVIVED! That's what really matters.

KR, agree the illegal fireworks thing needs to be seriously investigated... spoke to a police officer about it and he told us that any complaint about fireworks must be called in... we all need to call it in any time we hear illegal fireworks...

I really cant believe what people post. Im a proud volunteer in Town also a carrer firefighter like someone mentioned we all firefighters on scene help people in time of need. Funny early that day some of you where applausing and cheer while we marched down Hightstown, we leave our families in the middle of the night, during family events to help thats what we do " we care for you and protect you" We dont care for our picture in front page of your daily newspaper we volunteer because we a special breed. As "the facts" mentioned the way fire was blowing out from everywhere wasnt much we could had done to save the property, but to protect exposures and get control of the fire. Facts dont lie light height construction is not your best friend only in the wallet. People stop bitching at us regardless if volunteers or paid, the 911 notification should came earlier. We proud what we do and we all did a great job, no loss of life civilian or firefighters we all went home at the end. IF you can make better well please go to your near firehouse and apply to become a VOLUNTEER.

I as well am a local firefighter that was at this call. Reading some of these past posts of firefighters that were on scene, I can tell who wrote them and these guys are spot on, but let's elaborate on some of these comments so the average Joe can really understand how things can go from bad to worse this fast. There are many things that play a part in a fire getting this far this fast before water is put on the fire. Concentrating on only one of these aspects is one of the greatest factors in how fast this fire moved, CONSTRUCTION. Plain and simple. The general public does not always understand what a lightweight construction structure really entails until something like this happens. It comes down to one thing and one thing only and that is cost of construction. Both in time and materials. If a builder can cut down on one or both of these areas they can make more profit. Building construction has changed drastically over the past 10 to 15 years. Now, instead of using solid wood lumber for floor joists they use I-Joists that are glued together as a member http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-joist . For roofs instead of rafters they use trusses trusses are a structural unit, you remove ANY single part of that unit and they fail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truss . For sheathing both on walls and roof surfaces they use OSB, little wood chips that are glued together in a sheet (oriented strand board... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oriented_strand_board ) instead of plywood.

So not only are these items thinner materials, they are mostly held together with glue. How well do you think glue holds up to fire? All of these substitutes are cheaper either because the material is cheaper or it installs faster, so builders love it because they make more profit. The problem with these substitutes is they burn faster, MUCH faster, they also have nearly zero stopping power for fire unlike the slightly more expensive solid member construction so fire spreads nearly 90% faster. Think about that. Something that in an older home can take an hour or more to burn through can now with the advent of lightweight construction take 10 minutes to progress to the same point. In fact it is such a documented problem that commercial buildings with roof truss construction versus steel beams or solid wood framing are such a hazard when a building is burning that they are required to place a label near the front door ( a triangle symbol with F/R in the middle ) to alert firefighters to this danger. If there is a heavy fire load these labels raise the red flag for command officers to not send firefighters into that structure if collapse is the slightest possibility. So people, the next time you go to look at buying a house. Think about these things.

The builders will never tell you about these issues with lightweight construction. In fact they have some great advantages because they ARE stronger and carry loads better,,,, UNTIL fire is introduced then the game changes and changes in the blink of an eye.

As this style of construction becomes more and more prevalent the issue of a structure burning so fast to the point of no recovery will most certainly become more mainstream. And firefighters often can do nothing about it. We can't go inside, because collapse is such huge possibility. Both from above and from below. The great majority of firefighter deaths is directly due to some sort of structural collapse. So getting to the "seat" of the fire is often not possible before things go really bad.

My goodness Ed you need to get a grip. If you were so concerned about the arrival time of the trucks you should become a firefighter Iam sure you'll understand then.( that goes for all you other haters out there too). That house couldn't be saved anyway it was too far gone from the start. Thanks a lot Ed for putting the VOLUNTEERS down who jeopardize their life everytime the siren goes off while you sit on your butt and critize.

Apparently Volunteer Firefighters do in fact take longer than paid firefighters due to the nature of the volunteers being "on call" but not sitting in the station. So we do appreciate all the firefighters Volunteer and salaried. I think the frustration was the 20 or so minutes to arrive. That may be good response time for Volunteers; but the assumption is that it is not. That's the real question .... is 20+ minutes considered fast or slow? I don't actually know just trying to temper the expectations and where the comments are coming from as 20 minutes seemed like an eternity when you are watching someone's possessions burn. Hat's off to all the firefighters for putting out that blaze so quickly ...... it did go out fast once the water was flowing.

Thanks for sharing all this information on structural aspects .. Does anyone have more insight into how the fire started ?

My thoughts go out to the family who lost their home. I realize that there are many questions, however the time for those is later and the proper forum is not on the internet. If anyone has questions about response times of local fire departments, as taxpayers, you are certainly entitled to that information. For that, you should follow-up with a public records request through the Mercer County Department of Public Safety & Emergency Management - Emergency Services Communications Center in Lawrenceville. In the mean time, perhaps those of you local to this tragic event could be better focusing your time and efforts on helping out the family that just lost their home and all of their possessions. Just a thought.

@ Mike, and everyone else. Look at the second video posted. When the camera started rolling water was being put on the fire. At time stamp 19:50 into that video you can clearly hear an update from Central Dispatch advising the operation is 30 minutes into the call. Doing a little math, 30 minutes into the call and almost 20 minutes into the video means the video was started at 10 minutes into the call meaning water was being put on the fire at ten minutes in.

Like I said .... I FELT long and that was the reason for the tempers last night. I did not beat anyone up nor try to make anyone look bad.... Just trying to settle tempers. No need to defend anything .... We appreciate the firefighters and their bravery. As yes the community has already spent our efforts helping our friends.

Mike I would like to know how you got that is toke 20 mins for the firefighters to get there. When the alarm came in it only toke 7 mins for the first truck to get on scene

My thanks to all the wonderful VOLUNTEER firefighters who take time to serve our neighbors. I know that my husband and all the other volunteers left their families and the comfort of their homes to risk their lives for others. I know that all the fire stations could use more brave volunteers, so maybe some will take this as a call to become more personally involved.

Great job by East Windsor, Hightstown, Cranbury and all the fire departments who responded. Undoubtedly their prompt response and hard work on the scene helped prevent this fire from spreading to the neighboring homes. I've lived in Hightstown for more than 30 years and know that we receive excellent service from our local volunteer fire departments. We are lucky to have these fine volunteers. Thank you all for your dedication to our community!

Wow I see alot of problems here. One thing is the second video shows a time stamp of 19:50 then it would be only 7:50 pm. The call came in at 12:59am. The first video only shows the back of the house so you cant see what is going on on the other side.. Gary correct me if I'm wrong but if 7 mins after the tones go off and there is no response from the fire house the county notifies the fire chief that there has been no response from your station would you like a retone? I don't think that happened being that it was toned out for a working structure and any of them having a scanner hearing the cops saying it fully involved they all would be going.In the second video I see squrt 42 with the master stream going and it looked like ladder 41 was on the other side. As to behind squrt 42 it looked like ladder 42 but I really could not see the name on the ladder. To have the fire out in 30mins is great and to the fact that no one got hurt. To think after all the trucks left and you all went to bed the fire fighters went back there stations and had to put all dry hose on the truck clean any tools that were used fill the air packs and clean the trucks before they could go back to there homes and back to bed.. How long do you think it took for all of this to happen. I bet about 2 to 3 hours and then they had to get up and go to there full time jobs. As to having a paid department we really don't need them because East Windsor and Hightstown I think cover the town just fine..

I was just trying to smooth things over with a bunch of folks that thought it took forever with others that said it was very quick ... but at this point it is not worth the effort. Too much to do for the family who needs me. I'm done here.

I wanna see all You people that are complaining about our response times get up in the middle of the night an do we as "volunteers"do for our community... It easier said then done. Mind you were sleeping while are tones went off an not only that we don't have the privilege like PD an run light an stop sign coming from our homes to the fire stations.. So if you all feel you can do better come an fill an app an then see how fast you respond during the day yet alone the middle of the night

"Great Spirits have often encountered vioent opposition from mediocre minds.."
Albert Einstein

violent

I really don't think its a matter of if "WE" think we can do it better or the next person. Its FRUSTRATING watching a neighbors home go up in flames and waiting 10 mins. YES, there is a bigger percentage that has no idea what its like to be a volunteer firefighter but at the same time these firefighters need to have a little heart and understand that a family just lost EVERYTHING! I live 4 houses away and was one of the first people out there and while I'm not going to say which fire companies were there and weren't I can say the only thing that bothered me was the firefighter which whom had words with that homeowner and told the homeowner that he owed him (the firefighter) a thank you. I think there is a time and a place for everything and I don't think that comment was needed at that point in front of all the neighbors and friends. I am thankful that not only everyone in the home got out safe but ALL firefighters are safe and kept all the neighbors safe. I believe there is a bigger picture here then attacking the volunteers that did their duty. If the people of centex and east windsor want a paid fire company speak up or forever hold your anger. Volunteer firefighters don't even have to put out a fire if they don't please to but they DID! Whether or not anyone wants to see that they helped us ALL out in the centex development is on you but think about it twice before attacking these people because you could be calling on them one day and they DO have a choice!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSiwoKCiy-s

Some good insight into the fire and what the first responders faced that night......

PEOPLE STOP AND THINK.......ALL of you that are mad and pointing the finger, when doring this time did you call 911??? How many of you went out to get the pic or video of a this persons life burning and at the same time on your phone getting this great fottage of a fire NEVER CALLED 911!!!! A paid or volunteer firefighter can only make a defferance when a the call is placed to 911! from the time it was called in it what you need to look at. I saw 5 videos on youtube and 1 of the 5 was from a fire dept. video! SAD!! you Think for yourselfers are more to blame then anyone!! To the firefghters that responded, the cards were stacked against you before any of you got out of bed to respond! great job keep up the great work!! (BOTH VOLUNTEER AND PAID!!!) Last thing...how far is One mile road to this location??? Lights and sirens cant change distance!

how many people from the CENTEX community volunteer time to the fire or rescue companies?

Thanks go out to the firefighters who risk their lives everyday to save others. Now....just imagine the tragic loss of human life if an overcrowded single family HIghtstown/East Windsor home-turned boardinghouse were to ignite in the same fashion as this horrendous, frightening fire. How our towns can know about these situations and sit on their hands doing nothing is absolutely beyond me. Are all Hightstown homes with rental signs posted inspected for fire safety? Are the complaints of residents about neighborhood boardinghouses taken seriously? I think not, in fact, I know not. C'mon you're risking the lives of the public and the lives of those brave volunteers giving their all to save others. Building inspectors, these lives are squarely in your hands. In light of this tragedy, what will you do to make our town safer?

How can we help the family?

THANK YOU to ALL the firefighters who responded to this tragic event in the early morning hours on Bristol Way. The town of East Windsor has an amazing group of firefighters (EW Volunteer Fire Company No. 1/EW Fire Company No.2 ) who volunteer their time AND their families time to serve our entire community 24/7. I think those of you who responded negatively towards are men and women volunteers should take a closer look as to what these individuals give up on a daily basis to PROTECT and serve our community. There is not a more dedicated group of volunteers I have met nor more courageous than those that were on the scene Tuesday morning. We should all be thankful that there was no loss of life and that the fire was also contained so quickly. And remember...these volunteers may be the same ones to assist you and your family one day, so please do not be so quick to judge. Thank you again to all departments that assisted in this blaze. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family displaced by this horrible event.

Its simple... for those that have "issues" with the response times, you have three options.
1. You volunteer your time, being called away from your family on holidays, birthdays, etc., going on calls for the community at 1, 2, 3 or 4 am when you already have a fulltime day job and then when you have weekends off from your regular job, you are out with the department for hours on end either fundraising or participating in community based events.
2. You can go to the Mayor and tell her that you want to have your real estate taxes increased AT LEAST a $ 1000 a year, in order to have a 3-4 minute quicker response time with a paid department.
3. Unless your willing to do ONE of these first two options. Shut the hell up.

1000 bucks per household? I think your severely mistaken friend. I lived in Hamilton and the place that I lived put 4 guys around the clock a couple years back. My fire tax went up to about 390 bucks a year.

For those of you looking to help the family, a few kids in the neighborhood are having a lemonade stand to raise money. Providing the weather is decent, they will be at the PAL field Saturday and Sunday. Stop by! Have some lemonade, donate a few dollars, and help make a few kids feel like they're doing something wonderful! :)

Is the cause of the fire known yet? When it is would be good to have a follow up story