5:50 PM 11/12/2008 –  NJ| MERCER| PRINCETON| *WORKING FIRE*| 6020| 74 ROSS STEVENSON CIRCLE| CHIEF 60 (TOMALIN) REPORTED 2 STORY RESID FIRE SHOWING SIDE B 2ND FLR EVES, RIT 22 (LAWRENCE RD FD) ASSIGNED, BAL 1ST ALARM REQUESTED 1 L/S/O| (C) BNN | NJC380/14/485/108

Flames damage home of Princeton Theological Seminary professor

by Michael Ratcliffe/The Times http://www.nj.com

Wednesday November 12, 2008, 9:53 PM

            PRINCETON TOWNSHIP -- Fire Wednesday night damaged the home of a distinguished professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, but injured no one, firefighters at the scene confirmed.

            Fire officials Wednesday night were still investigating the cause of the blaze at Geddes W. Hanson's home on Ross Stevenson Circle -- located off Mount Lucas Road -- but said they do not consider it suspicious in nature.

            An ordained Presbyterian minister and a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Hanson became the seminary's first black faculty member when he was hired in 1969 to teach in the areas of administration and ministry, according to the seminary's website.

            Their house rendered temporarily uninhabitable by the fire, Hanson and his wife were making arrangements Wednesday night to stay with friends, officials said.

            Princeton Fire Chief Dan Tomalin said the homeowners discovered the fire after they were alerted by the blaring alarm of a smoke detector on the home's second floor. Going upstairs to check on the alarm, they discovered smoke and flames, he said.

            They called 911 shortly before 5:30 p.m. and fled the burning house, he said.

            Thick smoke was pumping from the roof and flames visible from a second-floor window on the right side of the two-story home when firefighters arrived, Tomalin said.

            Tomalin credited a fast response by the first firefighters -- a crew from Mercer Engine Co. #3 on Witherspoon Street -- and aggressive interior fire-fighting tactics with saving the house.

            "They did a great job," he said, explaining how firefighters hauled hoses up the stairs and cut off the fire before it could spread throughout the second floor.

            As a result, while most of the home sustained smoke and heat damage, actual fire damage was contained to the second-floor room on the right side of the house, which is where investigators believe the fire started, he said.

            Princeton's three fire companies – Princeton Engine #1, Princeton Hook & Ladder, and Mercer Engine #3 – brought the blaze under control in about a half-hour with the assistance of crews from the Rocky Hill, Lawrence Road and Plainsboro fire companies.

            Medical personnel from Princeton, Plainsboro and Trenton provided "rehab" services to firefighters.

            According to the seminary's website, Hanson currently serves as the Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Congregational Ministry in the Department of Practical Theology.

            The Hanson Lecture, a biannual lectureship, was established at the seminary in 1992 by the Association of Black Seminarians in recognition of Hanson's "outstanding academic and spiritual guidance to the students of Princeton."

Fire damages Princeton residence

By MICHAEL RATCLIFFE

STAFF WRITER, http://www.nj.com

            PRINCETON TOWNSHIP - Fire last night damaged the home of a distinguished professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, but injured no one, firefighters at the scene confirmed.

            Fire officials last night were still investigating the cause of the blaze at Geddes W. Hanson's home on Ross Stevenson Circle - located off Mount Lucas Road - but said they do not consider it suspicious in nature.

            An ordained Presbyterian minister and a graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Hanson became the seminary's first black faculty member when he was hired in 1969 to teach in the areas of administration and ministry, according to the seminary's website.

            Their house rendered temporarily uninhabitable by the fire, Hanson and his wife were making arrangements last night to stay with friends, officials said.

            Princeton Fire Chief Dan Tomalin said the homeowners discovered the fire after they were alerted by the blaring alarm of a smoke detector on the home's second floor. Going upstairs to check on the alarm, they discovered smoke and flames, he said.

            They called 911 shortly before 5:30 p.m. and fled the burning house, he said.

            Thick smoke was pumping from the roof and flames visible from a second-floor window on the right side of the two-story home when firefighters arrived, Tomalin said.

            Tomalin credited a fast response by the first firefighters - a crew from Mercer Engine Co. 3 on Witherspoon Street - and aggressive interior fire-fighting tactics with saving the house.

            "They did a great job," he said, explaining how firefighters hauled hoses up the stairs and cut off the fire before it could spread throughout the second floor.

            As a result, while most of the home sustained smoke and heat damage, actual fire damage was contained to the second-floor room on the right side of the house, which is where investigators believe the fire started, he said.

            Princeton's three fire companies - Princeton Engine 1, Princeton Hook & Ladder, and Mercer Engine 3 - brought the blaze under control in about a half-hour with the assistance of crews from the Rocky Hill, Lawrence Road and Plainsboro fire companies. Medical personnel from Princeton, Plainsboro and Trenton provided "rehab" services to firefighters.

            According to the seminary's website, Hanson currently serves as the Charlotte W. Newcombe Professor of Congregational Ministry in the Department of Practical Theology.