3/8 TC Thirty-two bystanders and firefighters were overcome by noxious fumes -- possibly cyanide gas -- yesterday as a four-alarm fire destroyed a Manchester, Carroll County, barn that had been converted into apartments.
About 100 firefighters fought the blaze for eight hours.
The injured were taken to five area hospitals, including one in Hanover, Pa. None of the apartment resident were hurt.
Two people were admitted to the intensive care unit at Baltimore's Sinai Hospital, where one was listed in critical
condition and the other in serious condition, said Paul Umanski, a hospital spokesman.
Fifteen others, including 14 civilians, were being decontaminated Sinai and were listed in stable to good condition. Three of 15 were admitted, Mr. Umanski said.
He said one person left the hospital after being treated but then returned when he again experienced difficulty breathing.
Sinai and Franklin Square hospitals are hazardous materials treatment centers and are equipped to handle the most serious exposures to poisonous gases and other possibly life-threatening materials.
One firefighter was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center's hyperbaric chamber and was listed in stable condition.
Four other firefighters were treated at Franklin Square Hospital and listed in stable condition.
Another six firefighters were treated at Carroll County General Hospital and also were listed in stable condition.
A spokeswoman at Hanover General Hospital said four people were treated there but their conditions were not available. All were expected to recover, she said.
A volunteer for the Manchester Fire Company suffered a possible broken ankle and was taken to Carroll County General Hospital for treatment.
Sixteen residents lost everything in the fire, which burned for eight hours before being extinguished around 11:15 p.m.
Damage to the building, on Locust Street near the town's fairgrounds and athletic fields, was estimated to be near $175,000.
Micki Smith, a spokeswoman for the Carroll County government, said the fumes may have been cyanide gas that resulted from the burning of plastic pipes or plastic used to cover or insulate furniture.
The fumes affected firefighters and people watching the barn burn. Most experienced severe coughing and difficulty in breathing, she said.
Fire officials and members of the Carroll County hazardous materials unit were investigating the source of the fumes, Ms. Smith said.
Reported at 3:15 p.m., the blaze may have started in a ground-floor apartment, fire officials said.
Carrie Clark, who occupied the ground-floor apartment where the fire apparently started, told fire investigators she had been cooking on an electric stove, but took the pot off the stove before leaving the house to go to a store. When she returned, her apartment was in flames.
Ms. Clark told authorities that all her possessions were lost in the fire.
Charles Renn, 90, a resident since 1987, said he was home around 3:10 p.m. when he smelled smoke.
"A man was pounding on my apartment door and told me to get out, the place is on fire," said Mr. Renn, who occupied the unit directly above the apartment where the fire apparently started.
"I went outside and saw the flames coming out of the basement apartment. There was nothing I could do." Like the other residents, Mr. Renn lost everything.
Mr. Renn was the only tenant home when the blaze was discovered by a person who lived nearby.
Fire officials said the blaze burned out of the door from the basement apartment, along the outside wall and up into the attic through the overhang of the metal roof. Firefighters said there was no exterior door to get to the attic and they had to gain access by knocking holes in the roof with axes.
Frank Rauschenberg, deputy fire marshal, declared the building a total loss and said damage was estimated at $175,000.
Firefighters were able to get into five of the apartments when they arrived and rescued at least four dogs, several cats and pet birds.
Because the barn was at the end of a narrow street, many of the first firefighters on the scene had to walk nearly a half-mile to reach the fire. Later, two utility vehicles were dispatched to transport firefighters to the fire to battle the blaze in shifts.
Firefighters laid more than 1,500 feet of 5-inch hose from the nearest hydrant to supply water to the site.
Officers on the scene later requested several water tank trucks to shuttle water from a nearby farm pond to the scene.
Fire equipment still was being sent to the scene at 8:30 p.m.
Firefighters from Manchester, Hampstead, Lineboro, Reese, Westminster, Gamber and Winfield in Carroll County were joined by others from Baltimore County and York County, Pa.
While four alarms were officially dispatched, extra units made the fire the equivalent of a six-alarm blaze.
The Red Cross was helping residents find a place to stay last night.