Fire breaks out in Ellicott City home

The Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services responded to a two-alarm house fire in Ellicott City late Saturday evening and firefighters were still putting out the blaze early Sunday morning. Initial calls to the department about the fire in the 5000 block of Ellis Lane indicated people might be trapped inside the house, said spokeswoman Cerisa Speight, but investigators discovered that the residents were  away on vacation. The house sitter escaped with no reported injuries, Spreight said.

Fire officials received the report of the fire at about 11:00 p.m. and a total of 37 units responded, including some from Baltimore County and Baltimore City. The fire was under control at approximately 11:50 p.m., Speight said, although it was still burning into Sunday morning.

Damages are estimated to be about $900,000, Speight said, not including the damage to the siding of a neighboring house. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.