Flames destroy Mercer Co. home

HOPEWELL, N.J. - January 3, 2008 Over 100 firefighters battled the ferocious flames. The blaze was reported by the homeowners at 5:45 in the morning.

They awoke thanks to the blaring sound of smoke detectors.

"When they got out of bed, they saw fire in the living room, and made the 911 call at that point," Chief George Meyer of the Hopewell Township Police said.

The house on Chase Hallow Road is in a neighborhood of expensive homes in Hopewell Township. It had been undergoing extensive remodeling for over a year and was nearly finished when Thursday's blaze destroyed it.

"When the firefighters arrived there was fire on the first floor and on the second floor," Meyer said.

There are no fire hydrants in the neighborhood so it took about a half hour for tanker trucks to arrive and begin putting water on the flames.

"At one point there were 13 tanker trucks from Mercy County, Somerset County, Hunterdon County, and even Bucks County, Pennsylvania," Meyer said.

Homeowners David and Martha Goss escaped along with their daughter and her friend, however, several cats were reported missing.

With the aid of firefighters, they sifted through the rubble looking for important items they may have been saved.

The investigation into a cause is continuing, but authorities believe it was electrical in nature, and is definitely not suspicious.