House fire near Rider campus started with a cigarette butt

By Joe Passero

A fire that broke out last week at a Lawrenceville home across from Rider’s campus was traced back to cigarettes in the home’s basement, according to the Lawrence Township Police Department.

Students watched with concern as the home at 2132 Lawrenceville Road, directly across from Conover Hall, went up in smoke around 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 27.

“It turns out the construction guys were working, and it might have been careless smoking,” said Lawrence Police Lt. Joseph Amodio. “There were a lot of cigarettes, so it might have fallen through into the basement and caught up some of the debris or garbage.”

Earlier that day, carpenters were working inside the house where there was no electricity or gas, Amodio said.

The carpenters left the site around 4:30 p.m., and the property owner made a brief visit to pick up a vehicle soon after, however, there was no smoke at the time.

Amodio said the fire was “not deemed suspicious,” and that there would be no further investigation. No charges were pressed.