Princeton Packet
Wednesday, March 21, 1979
Quick action helps quell blaze
by Tom Lederer
Staff Writer
Quick action by police, firemen and a neighbor prevented a potentially destructive fire from getting out of control at 45 Greenway Terrace Monday night.
A general alarm was sounded about 11 p m. after the fire broke out in the living area of the Terry B. Sanders home, setting off the alarm of a smoke detector.
While Mr. Sanders attempted to contain the blaze with a garden hose, police report, Mrs. Sanders phoned police from upstairs where she found herself trapped by the heavy smoke. .
Raymond Claark, a neighbor living across the street, said he got out of bed when he heard yelling outside.
“I looked across the street and the whole house appeared to be in flames,” Mr. Clark, who is controller and associate treasurer at Princeton University, recalled yesterday.
He said he awakened his 17-year-old son Phillip, a student at Princeton High School, called police, and ran across the street with his son.
He said he found Mr. Sanders with a hose fighting the flames and Mrs. Sanders at an upstairs window. About that same time the first police car arrived.
There was an awful lot of smoke and it was obvious she was inhaling it,” Mr. Clark recalled. “There was no ladder there that would reach to the second story so I sent Phillip back to get ours. We put it up to the window and a police officer went up and was able to get her out.”
Just about that time fire trucks and the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad arrived on the scene. Mrs. Sanders was given oxygen and taken to Princeton Medical Center.
“I usually go out jogging every morning, but I did enough running last night to take care of that,” Mr. Clark said with a laugh.
Fire personnel reported Tuesday morning that the exact cause of the blaze was still not clear. The fire was largely confined to the family room.
Photo Caption:
PRINCETON FIREMEN take smoldering furniture from Greenway Terrace home during a general alarm fire Monday night. Wednesday, March 21, 1979
Driver climbs to safety as car sinks into brook
A car smashed through a guard rail and landed in Harry’s Brook Monday after the driver fell asleep at the wheel, according to Princeton Township police. The accident occurred about 5:10 p.m.
The driver ended up soaked but uninjured, police said. Her car sank to the bottom of the brook and was submerged.
According to police, Elaine Callovini, 23, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was traveling into Princeton on Route 27 when she fell asleep. The car veered off the right-hand edge of the road, just before the bridge over Harry’s Brook, which is between Shady Brook Lane and Poe Road.
The car apparently struck a low stone wall on the bridge, pushed aside a metal guard rail and entered the brook.
According to reports at the scene and the police account, Ms. Callovini was able to open her side window and squeeze through the opening before the car went completely under. She then got on the roof of the car.
A passerby leaning over the bridge’s low wall then pulled her to the top of the bridge.Ms. Callovini was taken to Princeton Medical Center for observation and released. She was charged with careless driving.
Along with the police the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad responded with boats and assisted in removing the car from the brook.
Photo Caption:
THE DRIVER of this car was able to get herself out before it sank completely under water in Harry’s Brook Monday. Members of the Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, using a boat, assist in hauling the car from the brook.
(Tom Lederer photo)