Firefighters Extinguish Blaze in Paper Shredding Plant

A fire in an industrial-sized paper shredding machine at a document management business on Whitehead Road generated a lot of smoke but ultimately very little damaged in Lawrence Township this afternoon, Monday, Nov. 21.

The blaze at the Cintas facility at 649 Whitehead Rd. was reported just before 1:25 p.m. Thick smoke was billowing from the rear of the structure when the first firefighters from Slackwood Volunteer Fire Co. arrived on the scene.

Slackwood Deputy Fire Chief Marty Sudol said the fire was contained to a large, conveyor-fed hopper/compactor filled with paper that was in the process of being shredded. He estimated the machine stands about 20 feet tall.

Investigators determined that a belt broke off the machine’s motor, which in turn caused the bearings to heat up and ignite the paper, Sudol said.

Responding to the blaze were the township’s daytime duty crew of career firefighters and volunteer firefighters from all three township fire companies – Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville.

They were assisted by crews from the Hamilton, Prospect Heights and Pennington Road fire companies of Hamilton and Ewing townships.

Sudol said firefighters quickly “knocked down” the fire, but then had to spend time pulling the smoldering papers from the machine to completely extinguish the blaze.

Ladders from Lawrenceville and Hamilton fire trucks could be seen raised to the roof at the rear of the building, and a hole was cut in the chain-link fence at the rear of the property to allow firefighters to supply water for firefighting efforts from a hydrant located on Cherry Tree Lane.

While a significant amount of smoke was created by the blaze, actual fire damage was limited to the shredder’s motor, Sudol said.

A Lawrence Township Emergency Medical Service ambulance crew stood by on scene as a precaution but no injuries were reported.

Whitehead Road was closed to traffic between the Trenton Freeway (Route 1) ramps and Brunswick Pike (Business Route 1) for about an hour because of the blaze.

While Lawrence Township firefighters were committed on Whitehead Road, firefighters from neighboring townships – including Princeton, Ewing and Hamilton – sent crews to stand by in the Slackwood, Lawrence Road and Lawrenceville firehouses in case another emergency occurred in town.