Charring Flames
Student narrowly escapes fire on freezing night

By Olivia Tattory

Rider sophomore Kevin Mehaffey awoke in total darkness and a smoke-filled room wearing only sweatpants and a T-shirt when he realized he was in the middle of a raging house fire. He was eventually able to escape, but after several failed attempts to notify neighbors, Mehaffey was left in the freezing cold at 4 a.m., only to later find himself in the back of an ambulance heading toward Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital at Hamilton.

Mehaffey, a sophomore business administration major from Jamison, Pa., recalled the near tragedy of Friday, Feb. 16, and the difficulty while finding his way to safety out of the ranch home he rented with four other housemates on Quakerbridge Road.

“I tried to find my way outside but had a hard time because the entire house was filled with smoke,” he said.

“I was the only one there,” said Mehaffey. “We don’t really have neighbors so I didn’t know where to go.”

It wasn’t until a local paper boy arrived that the 911 call was made. According to Mehaffey, the smoke detector in the house did not go off while he was inside.

Mehaffey shared the house with four friends, three of whom are Rider students. Sophomore Dan Blau, a communication major from Doylestown, Pa.; sophomore Craig Swain, a business administration major from Erwinna, Pa.; and Barry McGrellis, a sophomore at Mercer County Community College from Stirling, Scotland, had left for North Carolina to visit friends, less than 12 hours before the fire.

The fourth roommate, sophomore Chris Eismann, a communication major from Doylestown, Pa., was on campus at the time. Shortly after receiving the call from Mehaffey, he and two others drove to the house.

“As soon as we turned the corner by Wawa you could see all the smoke and flames,” he said.
Lawrence Township Fire Marshal Dale Robbins stated the cause of the fire was unintentional.
“An extension cord running out of the front bedroom overheated the circuit and caused the cord to begin to burn the floor,” said Robbins. “The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental.”

According to Gary Wasko, assistant chief of the Lawrenceville Fire Co. and one of the first at the scene, an unidentified passing motorist also made a call at approximately 4:05 a.m., reporting flames in the front window of the home.

Upon arrival, firefighters were faced with heavy fire and smoke conditions on the right side of the house. After exhausting the water supply on available fire trucks, firefighters were delayed in retrieving water from a hydrant because of frigid temperatures, which dropped as low as 13 degrees that night, according to the National Weather Service.

Seven fire trucks from the area aided in fighting the blaze, including three from the Lawrenceville Fire Co., two from Hamilton and one each from Ewing and Hopewell. An NJ Transit bus was brought in to serve as a relief station for the approximate 30 firefighters.
“We had the firefighters get their vital signs checked because of the cold temperatures,” said Wasko.

All five housemates are now living in Poyda. The one roommate, who is not a Rider student, will only reside on campus briefly until he finds other living accommodations.

The five students did not have renter’s insurance and therefore are not covered for anything they lost in the fire. The Dean of Students office is accepting donations for the four students. Rider has also provided new books and financial aid to be used for clothing.