6-Year-Old Killed In Mercer Co. Apartment Fire, 17 Hospitalized: PD

MERCER COUNTY, NJ — A six-year-old boy was killed and 17 people hospitalized after a fire broke out at an apartment complex in Ewing on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Around 3 p.m. on Thursday, Ewing Police received several 911 calls regarding a fire at Cambridge Hall, a multi-unit apartment complex located at 860 Lower Ferry Road.

Callers told police that heavy smoke and flames were coming from the front of the building.

When the fire department and police officers arrived, they learned of a possible entrapped child on the fourth floor.

Officers began evacuating the building and attempted to reach the main apartment on the fourth floor where the fire originated, but they encountered heavy smoke and flames.

All three Ewing Fire Departments, Stations 30, 31 and 33 arrived and were able to reach the fourth-floor apartment and rescue an unresponsive six-year-old child.

The child was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries, authorities said. The child was identified as six-year-old Jayden Gotell-Watkins of Baldwinsville, New York, who was visiting relatives in Ewing, police said Friday.

A total of 13 police officers, one firefighter and three residents were taken to hospitals for injuries ranging from minor burns to smoke inhalation and exhaustion, authorities said.

The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental, police said Friday.

Anyone with additional information to provide is asked to contact Ewing Police Detective David Hartmann at (609) 882-1313 ext. 7544

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