Bordentown (BURLINGTON)--Area fire departments responded to a 3 alarm fire in Bordentown at 420 Willow Street on Thursday December 4, 2008.

From the Trenton Times, http://www.nj.com

 

Bordentown City fire displaces family No one hurt in home they owned 40 years Friday, December 05, 2008 BY CARMEN CUSIDO http://www.nj.com BORDENTOWN CITY -- Joe Inman, 63, wiped away tears as he watched firefighters blast water into the second floor and gut the roof of the house he and his family lived in for 40 years. "It's gone," Inman said of the house, "but everybody's safe." Inman was at work when the fire started at about 11:24 a.m. yesterday, and his wife Susan, who had called 911 from inside the house, was not harmed as area firefighters responded to the three-alarm blaze at 420 Willow St. The fire was declared under control about 1:38 p.m., fire and police officials said. Though the fire's cause is under investigation and may not be known until today, city Police Chief Matthew Simmons said there is no suspicion of foul play. Simmons said Susan Inman was in a bathroom on the second floor of the house and saw flames in the ceiling. She threw a bucket of water at the flames before immediately calling 911, Simmons said. Because the rear of the Inmans' house was fully engulfed in flames and the nearest neighbor's home is only four feet away, officials worried the fire would spread, and neighbors from two adjacent homes were evacuated for about two hours, Simmons said. About 60 firefighters from several fire companies, including Bordentown city and township, Florence, Chesterfield, Mansfield and the Decou House Fire Company in Hamilton responded to the blaze, according to a Burlington County police dispatcher and Mike Gaynor, the deputy fire marshal from fire district two in Bordentown city. No firefighters were hurt, Gaynor said. A handful of neighbors, friends and other spectators gathered as flames leaped out the second floor and back of the house. Some offered Joe Inman hugs, others a place to stay. John Haviland, 43, a contractor and Prince Street resident who has known the family all his life, offered to let Inman stay in a home that's for sale five houses down from his. "We're a small town, we're not going to have anyone go homeless," Haviland said. Amy Nemeth, a city resident who is friends with Joe Inman's son, said she visited the home just last week. "It's shocking to have this happen. Rebuilding is the least of it, it's the stuff that has sentimental value that you can't replace. They had photographs everywhere. In frames, all over," said a tearful Nemeth, her hands shaking. Looking up at one of the guest bedrooms where one of his four children would stay when they visited, Joe Inman said, "all my children grew up here. ... It's just another bump on the road, a big bump." The Inmans did not request assistance from the Red Cross of Burlington County, said Gayle Lynch, director of emergency services for the chapter. Simmons, who knows the Inmans, said they would be staying at a motel last night, and with family in Hamilton afterward. The house, while still standing, "is pretty much gutted," and it appears from the outside that it's a total loss, said Simmons, adding no one other than fire personnel would be allowed inside until the investigation is completed. "It's just heartbreaking. One minute everything is fine, the next your life is altered," said Simmons, adding, "When you lose your memorabilia, your family tree seems like it gets broken."

From the Trentonian:

Photos by: Chris Dixon