Fires this week in Harford County displaced two families from their homes and damaged two motor vehicles, as firefighters worked in frigid conditions.
"These cold conditions certainly make operations difficult for the fire personnel," Senior Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said Thursday.
The State Fire Marshal's Office has issued a number of advisories in the past week about the increased danger of fire during cold conditions from such sources as space heaters, overloaded electrical fixtures, candles and dirty chimneys. The risk of carbon monoxide poisoning is also increased from improperly ventilated fuel burning heating sources.
Tuesday afternoon's fire in a two-story home in the 400 block of Winterberry Drive in Edgewood sent the homeowner to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, but the man has since been released, Alkire said.
Less than five hours later, a fire reported shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday in a two-story townhouse in the 3300 block of Midland Court in Edgewood displaced the owner and her 13-year-old daughter; there were no injuries to the occupants or firefighters reported, Alkire said.
The Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company responded to a vehicle fire Wednesday morning in the Kohl's parking lot in Forest Hill, and the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company responded to a vehicle fire on the northbound I-95 ramp to Route 24 in Edgewood on Wednesday afternoon, as reported by the Harford Volunteer Fire & EMS Association and Harford Fire Blog on their respective Facebook pages.
Alkire, the lead investigator in both house fires, said investigators are leaving the cause of the Winterberry Drive fire, which originated in the home's rear sun room, as "undetermined," because they can't conclusively determine the source. Damage is estimated at $90,000 to the dwelling and $60,000 to contents.
"We went back out there Wednesday and again today [Thursday]," he said. "We can't rule out a candle or an overloaded power strip so, unfortunately, we will have to close it out as undetermined. We just can't determine the sequence of events."
Alkire said the family is staying with other family members.
The fire in the Midland Court townhouse, which originated in the basement, was caused by a fire in a clothes dryer, according to investigators. Damage is estimated at $100,000 to the dwelling and $50,000 to contents. The owner and her daughter are being helped by Harford Disaster Assistance.
It took 60 firefighters from multiple companies about 30 minutes to control the Winterberry Drive fire. Personnel at the scene said the home's array of solar panels on the front half of the pitched roof posed challenges, because the panels are considered a safety hazard when firefighters need to access the structure from above.
Following the fire, there were posts about solar panels and fighting fires on the Fire & EMS Association Facebook page.
The Midland Court fire was brought under control by 40 firefighters from Abingdon, Joppa-Magnolia and Bel Air volunteer fire companies and the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department.
Harford County Hazmat provided portable heaters and a vehicle for the firefighters to get warm at both fires.
Alkire said smoke alarms in both homes triggered automatic fire alarms that alerted occupants and 911.
The 13-year-old was alone on the second floor of the Midland Court townhouse when the smoke alarm went off and went to investigate. She got out safely after seeing heavy smoke coming from the basement, Alkire said.
The occupant of the Winterberry Drive home was also alerted by the alarm and got to safety, although not without suffering the smoke inhalation. Fire investigators said a neighbor tried to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher before fire equipment arrived.