By Kevin Shea
nj.com
EWING, N.J. — A 6-year-old boy died Thursday afternoon in a fire in an Ewing apartment building that injured a total of 17 others, including 13 police officers who rushed inside the high-rise to evacuate residents, the police department said.
Callers to 911 reported smoke and flames coming from Cambridge Hall, a seven-story building in the 800 block of Lower Ferry Road, at about 3 p.m.
Among the first to arrive were township police, who were told of a possible juvenile trapped on the fourth floor, Police Chief Al Rhodes said. Officers started evacuating the building an attempted to reach the fourth floor, but were met by heavy smoke and flames.
“They evacuated as many residents as they could,” Rhodes said.
Township firefighters made it to the fourth floor and rescued the child, who was unresponsive. An EMS crew rushed the boy to a local hospital, where he died a short time later, Rhodes said.
In all, 13 police officers, three residents and one firefighter were taken to local hospitals for treatment, suffering from smoke inhalation, minor burns and exhaustion, officials said.
Ewing Fire Director Marc Strauss, through a spokesperson, reported the fire under control at 4 p.m. Firefighters from the township’s three fire stations responded.
The fire’s cause, which in not believed to be suspicious, is under investigation by Ewing officials and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. Anyone with information can call Ewing Police Detective David Hartmann at 609-882-1313 ext. 7544.
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