25 December, 1987

Probe into eating club fire continues

Although they have ruled out faulty wiring and furnace trouble, Princeton and Mercer County fire officials said they are still investigating the cause of the Dec. 11 fire at Princeton University’s Terrace Club.

The fire rendered the co-educational eating club inhabitable.

The investigation is now centered on double-checking statements by students and others on the fire scene and studying the sequence of events that night, according to Princeton Township Fire Chief Kenneth Kendall Jr.

“They don’t want to rush into one 11 conclusion. the chief said of the township and county fire investigators.

According to county Fire Marshal George Lenhardt, the probe has slowed and may not fully resume until early January when students return from their holiday break,

“We did reach one guy in Wisconsin,” Mr. Lenhardt noted. The fire, which caused between $100,000 and $500,000 worth of damage to the Washington Road building, began about 5:50 p.m. in the rear basement room known as “Blue Room.

The fire erupted about two hob later on the third Roar. probably because the Tudor-style structure had hollow walls. No one was injured. The cost to repair the building could vary. depending on how many design changes the club wants.

No club representative could he reached for comment this week. A man who answered the club’s phone on Wednesday said he was the plumber.