A house fire in Churchville early Tuesday morning injured one person and displaced the residents, fire investigators said.
Area firefighters also battled two recent fires in barns, one which extensively damaged a cattle barn in the northeastern part of the county Friday afternoon.
Improperly discarded smoking materials are listed by investigators as the suspected cause of the fire that damaged a two-story, wood frame home in the 3000 block of Whitefield Road in Churchville.
Firefighters from the Level and Bel Air volunteer fire companies responded at 3:22 a.m. Tuesday after one of the three occupants of the home discovered the fire in the basement, according to a notice of investigation from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.
It took the 25 firefighters approximately 20 minutes to control the fire. Investigators estimated damage to the structure at $100,000 and loss of contents at $50,000, according to the notice of investigation.
One of the three occupants of the home, a man, was transported by Level VFC ambulance suffering from smoke inhalation. The other two, a man and a woman, declined EMS care at the scene, investigators said. No injuries to fire personnel were reported.
The injured man suffered "extensive smoke inhalation" and was subsequently taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore in stable condition, according to Senior Deputy Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire, who said he had interviewed the man at the hospital.
"He actually tried to fight the fire for a good 45 minutes to an hour before he called a neighbor who called 911," Alkire said.
Investigators determined the fire started in a large pile of clothes in the basement, Alkire said, and the injured man tried to control it there without success.
According to the Fire Marshal's Office, the other occupants of the home are being assisted by the Red Cross.
Cattle barn fire
Sixty firefighters from Harford and Baltimore counties and York County, Pa., battled a barn fire in the White Hall area for more than two hours Friday afternoon, according to the Fire Marshal's Office.
The fire in the one and a half story, wood frame barn in the 5100 block of Jolly Acres Road was reported by a passerby at 1:30 p.m., according to the Fire Marshal's Office notice of investigation.
No injuries to fire personnel were reported, but four head of 22 cattle inside the barn died, investigators said.
The fire originated in the interior rear of the structure, according to the notice of investigation. The cause had not been determined as of Tuesday afternoon.
Responding fire companies include Whiteford, Jarrettsville, Norrisville, Bel Air and Fallston volunteer fire companies in Harford County; Baltimore County Fire Department and Maryland Line, Hereford and Jacksonville volunteer fire companies in Baltimore County; and York County Fire Department and Delta-Cardiff, Shrewsbury and Airville volunteer fire companies in York County.
Damage to the barn is estimated at $125,000, according to the Fire Marshal's Office; loss to contents is also estimated at $125,000.
Pig barn fire
Firefighters from the Bel Air and Darlington volunteer fire companies were called to a fire in a pig barn reported shortly before 9 a.m. Monday in the 3000 block of Lochary Road northeast of Bel Air.
According to a Fire Marshal's Office notice of investigation, the 20 firefighters on the scene controlled the fire in about 20 minutes. No injuries were reported.
A neighbor reported the fire in the 10-by-10-foot, wood frame building. According to investigators, the fire was caused by heat lamps igniting nearby combustibles.
Damage to the building is estimated at $2,500.