An electrical failure in a BMW car engine is suspected of causing a a Bel Air residence to catch fire Tuesday morning.
The Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company along with firefighters from the Darlington Volunteer Fire Company responded to a report of a fire at the 1300 block of Locust Lane in Bel Air at 11:34 a.m.
According to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the owner was home and discovered the fire after hearing a “popping” sound from the garage. He discovered smoke from under the hood and attempted to push the car out of the garage.
The fire quickly spread out of his control, and he and his adult daughter were able to safely escape. No one was injured.
It took 30 firefighters 20 minutes to control the rapidly spreading fire, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said.
Investigators discovered that the cause of the fire was an electrical failure in the engine compartment of a BMW 528i located inside the garage, the state fire marshal’s office said.
A smoke detector was present and activated inside the home.
An estimated $150,000 in damages was done to the two-story home, including $100,000 to the structure and $50,000 to the contents, according to the state fire marshal’s office.
Investigators credit the fire departments for quickly extinguishing and containing the bulk of the fire within the garage.