RARITAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — Raritan Township police officers rescued a woman from the roof of her home Saturday morning after smoke from a basement fire prevented her from escaping through the house, authorities said.
According to police, officers responded to a report of a structure fire on Pennsylvania Avenue at approximately 7:11 a.m. Nov. 14.
The first officer to arrive found the homeowner, who was the only occupant of the residence, standing on the roof. Additional officers arrived shortly afterward and observed smoke coming from the house, although they could not immediately determine its source.
Police initially attempted to use their patrol vehicles to help the woman down from the roof, but those efforts were unsuccessful. An officer then retrieved a ladder from the home’s garage, allowing officers to safely rescue her.
The woman was not injured and told police she had climbed onto the roof because smoke inside the residence prevented her from walking down the stairs.
Firefighters from the Raritan Township Fire Department subsequently entered the residence and discovered visible flames in the basement, which they extinguished.
A preliminary investigation by Raritan Township fire marshals determined that the blaze likely originated from an external electrical incident that traveled back into the residence through a power line, according to police.
Authorities said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
