Fire officials say cigarettes likely sparked Frist Campus Center fire

Borough Fire Official William Drake said yesterday that the investigation of the March 23 fire at the Frist Campus Center has led him to all but conclude that the blaze was sparked by rooftop cigarette smoking by one or more contractors.

"We did find a lot of cigarette butts up there," he said.

Drake added that his department initially believed the fire — which destroyed insulation and roofing materials valued between $25,000 and $30,000 — had been caused by cigarettes, and further investigations have supported these preliminary theories. The final report, however, has not been released, he said.

"It's technically not our final finding, but we're pretty sure," Drake said.

Keith Stanisce, senior vice president of Barr & Barr Builders, Inc., said his firm always attempts to prevent smoking on site. "We do have signs up around the building about not smoking. We discourage smoking," he said.

Though Stanisce said he regrets the damage, he does not fault his firm, but rather the subcontractors Barr & Barr hired to work on the roof. He said US Roofing — the firm that is building the roof — will pay for the damage through their insurance.

"Any damages will be issued against their insurance policy. They're liable for the damages," he said.

Stanisce said US Roofing is conducting its own review of the incident, having recently sent representatives from its insurance company to the Frist construction area to assess the damage.

Drake said he does not recommend smoking near any construction site. "It's generally not acceptable to smoke on a roof under construction, especially a flat roof, which can be easily ignitable," he warned.

According to Drake, because smoking is prohibited on the campus center site, any worker found to have contributed to the fire will be disciplined. "We would remove the person from the site to ensure it wouldn't happen again," he said.

When the fire occurred on the campus center's roof last month, the Princeton Fire Department arrived on the scene in the late evening, at approximately 8:40 p.m. Fire fighters spent 40 minutes fighting the fire, at which point they declared it "under control."

Looking ahead, Stanisce said his firm will not change their fire-prevention policies as a result of the damage. He said if the final report confirms what Drake pointed out, he would make fire safety an issue at future weekly sub-contractors meetings. "It would be reinforced that a person found smoking would be removed from the site," he added.

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Campus center director Paul Breitman said that despite the damage to the roof, construction did not slow dramatically. "It didn't create any delays or additional problems," he said.

Breitman said he is hopeful the remainder of the construction project can be finished without a hitch. "Barr & Barr has been very good to work with. They're going to do everything they can to ensure the building is completed on time," he said.