RARITAN TWP., NJ - Three Raritan Township patrol officers were honored for their bravery at Tuesday’s township committee meeting.

Officers Robert Schenck, Adam Swiatek and Brett Szatkowski were honored with plaques from the Hunterdon County Fire Chiefs Association for rescuing a disabled 75-year-old woman who was trapped in her house that was on fire on Jan. 22, 2019.

The officers were the first to arrive on the scene of the blaze on Becks Boulevard in the Ringoes section of the township after a 911 call reported that a couch was on fire, according to police.

Sign Up for Flemington/Raritan Newsletter Our newsletter delivers the local news that you can trust. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. You have successfully signed up for the TAPinto Flemington/Raritan Newsletter.

The officers forced their way into the home and found Arlene Cunningham sitting on a downstairs couch. They rescued her out of the house safely through a window, and she was flown to Saint Barnabas Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation.

The presentation was made by Marc Strauss, past president and awards chairman of the association, who said he took a personal interest in the presentation because he had taught Szatkowski at the Somerset County Police Academy.

“I’m not sure what academy [Schenck and Swiatek] went to, but I know Brett went to Somerset,” he said during the presentation.

“Hopefully inside he’s saying ‘yes, that training helped me that night,'” he added.

According to the township police website, Schenck, a Marine veteran, came to the department from the Rutgers University Police Department in 2018. Swiatek, an emergency medical technician, was hired in 2015, and Szatkowski was hired by the department in 2013 and is a firearms instructor.



