HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP — A firefighter from the West Trenton Fire Company emerged from the side of a smokey house last night carrying his helmet upside down in his hands.

Rushing to a contingent of area firefighters huddled together on the front lawn, he reached into his hat and pulled out a newborn puppy smaller than the palm of his hand.

The puppy was just one of 16 that fire crews saved from the basement of a burning home in the 2300 block of Pennington Road last night. Crews set up a makeshift animal hospital and kennel on the front lawn, using special canine oxygen masks to aid dogs being removed from the home and later putting them in crates.

Pennington Fire Chief Jim DeForte, who served as incident commander, said that the fire began in one room of the house and created a lot of smoke.

While the two occupants of the house were able to make it out safely and 15 puppies were rescued and transported to local veterinary hospitals, one dog died of suspected smoke inhalation, DeForte said. That dog was not with the others in the basement, he said.

The fire broke out around 8 p.m. yesterday evening, and took roughly 15 minutes to bring under control. First responders reported visible flames leaping from the rear of the home.

The cause of the fire had not been determined as of last night. “It is still under investigation,” said DeForte. After 10 p.m., power was being shut off at the small home as firefighters continued to check for hot spots and try to remove the smoke by ventilating the house.

Also responding to the fire were the Hopewell, Titusville, Lawrenceville and Lawrence Road fire companies.

DeForte said that most of the damage was confined to one room.

At the scene last night, police blocked southbound traffic on Pennington Road as pumper trucks raced back and forth between the home and the Ewing border to be filled from a fire hydrant.

Neighbors gathered to observe as scores of firefighters searched the home, assessed damage and provided medical attention to the rescued canines.

Contact David Karas at (609) 989-5731 or dkaras@njtimes.

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