Four-alarm fire destroys Avalon Princeton Junction apartment building in West Windsor (updated)

Four firefighters suffered minor injures after battling a four-alarm blaze at the Avalon Princeton Junction apartment complex in West Windsor on Wednesday. No residents were injured in the fire and none of the injured firefighters had to be hospitalized.

At about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, a fire was reported on the 8,000 block of Taylor Court at building no. 8. First responders arrived and evacuated residents as firefighters battled the blaze, which engulfed the building containing 24 units. Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control just before 6 p.m.

While the blaze was being contained, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Arson Unit and the West Windsor Police Department Detective Bureau began the investigation into the fire’s origin. A cause has not been announced yet. The investigation is ongoing.

The American Red Cross was activated to provide emergency relief to the displaced residents. Police said all inquiries to assist the families who lost their homes should be made either through the Red Cross or AvalonBay Communities through Charlene_lemoine@avalonbay.com. A group of residents in West Windsor has also created a GoFundMe campaign to support families displaced by the fire.

AvalonBay owns an apartment complex on Witherspoon Street in Princeton, and is slated to build two more apartment complexes in the municipality, one on Thanet Circle, and another at the Princeton Shopping Center.

Six years ago, a massive fire ripped through another Avalon apartment complex in Edgewater. The fire sparked debate among state legislators about New Jersey’s building standards. The fire destroyed 240 apartments, leaving at least 500 people homeless. The complex did have sprinklers, but they weren’t meant to completely douse a fire. Five hundred firefighters from neighboring NJ towns and NYC helped to fight the blaze. The building was built of “lightweight” wood, which was reported to be a big factor in the scale of the fire. The Bergen Record reported, “Firefighters and construction-industry representatives have fought for years over whether there should be stricter regulations on the building method.”