30 May, 1992 (~estimated)

Fire cause elusive

PRINCETON BOROUGH —Mercer County investigators have hit a dead end in the probe of a May 29 fire behind the Her. wick Unit, a nursing home that is part of the Medical Center at Princeton.

Lt. Donald Ricigliano of the county’s special investigations unit said yesterday he did not expect to get any new information on the fire, which destroyed a century-old barn used for storage. No one was hurt, and clients at the nursing home on Bayard Lane were not in danger.

Ricigliano reported last week that the fire, which was labeled suspicious, started in the barn’s northwest corner and was caused by an open flame, a broad description that includes matches or cigarettes. This means the fire was not caused by an electrical problem, he said.

The old, dry wood building collapsed less than an hour after firefighters arrived. The heavy damage hampered investigators, according to both Ricigliano and Bill Drake, Princeton Borough’s fire official. Drake called county investigators after finding some-thing that could have proved suspicious. He did not say what he found.