Five people, including three children, have been displaced from an Edgewood home after a fire caused about $125,000 in damage to the structure and contents Friday, fire investigators said.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire, which started in the master bedroom of the one-story single-family house in the 400 block of Edgewood Road, according to a notice of investigation from the fire marshal's office.
The cause is still under investigation, but "we cannot rule out discarded smoking materials," Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire, an assistant public information officer, said.
The fire, which was reported around 2 p.m., was discovered by a person passing the house.
It took 25 firefighters from the Abingdon, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Bel Air and Joppa-Magnolia fire companies 10 minutes to get the blaze under control, according to the Fire Marshal's Office report.
Edgewood Road was closed between Willoughby Beach Road and Trimble Road as firefighters battled the fire and fire marshals investigated, according to Andy Doyle, spokesman for the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company.
The occupants of the house, including Tierra Bailey, her three children and boyfriend Naquan Williams, had left the about 45 minutes before the fire started, Alkire said.
The house is owned by George E. Schroeder, according to the Fire Marshal Office's report.
Family and friends are helping the couple and the children, Alkire said.
Firefighters contained the fire in the master bedroom, but the home was filled with heat, smoke, soot and water damage, according to the report.