A Baltimore Sun newspaper carrier called the fire department and woke two people so they could escape from their burning home in Finksburg early yesterday, Carroll County fire officials said.
One firefighter, Joseph Hess, 40, of Reese Fire Company was treated for smoke inhalation at Carroll County General Hospital and released.
The blaze, which extensively damaged the wood frame house, was discovered by Beverly Raine, The Sun carrier, when she saw flames coming from the roof vent of the one-story dwelling in the 2000 block of Kays Mill Road shortly after 4 a.m.
"I was delivering the morning paper on Jeffrey Lori Drive and saw an orange glow in the sky," Ms. Raine said. "I knew it must be a fire and thought the fire department must be there, but when I turned right on Klee Mill Road and drove a short distance I saw the house in flames."
Ms. Raine, who has been delivering the morning newspaper for about 2 1/2 years, said, "I pulled my car into the driveway, grabbed my car phone and dialed 911 as I ran to the house. I banged on the door of the house until a man answered. He was in his long johns and very drowsy, and obviously had been sleeping. I told him his house was on fire and he had to get out and to hurry."
Arnold Cornett, 50, closed the door and went to awaken his mother while Ms. Raine ran to the rear of the house, where she was confronted by additional flames under the eaves.
Ms. Raine said she quickly returned to the front door and had started to knock again just as Mr. Cornett assisted his mother, Mary Cornett, 75, out of the house.
Ms. Raine, 27, said she normally works from 1:30 a.m. to 4:30 a.m. and was running a little behind schedule yesterday.
"I'm glad I was there to discover the blaze and to wake the man and his mother, because there are not too many cars on that road at that time of the morning, and maybe I helped."
Both occupants escaped the burning building uninjured.
Charles Adams, a state fire marshal's investigator, ruled the fire accidental. He said it apparently began in a wood stove, broke through the chimney and spread to the attic and roof.
He said the home had a working fire detector, but it had not yet activated when Ms. Raine woke the occupants.
Ms. Raine also rescued a pet dog from the house and carried it to a car parked in the driveway.
Mr. Cornett and a carrier for the Carroll County Times, Fred Zaragoza, who had arrived after Ms. Raine, helped Mrs. Cornett to the automobile.
Ms. Raine and the two men went to the rear of the house and were trying to connect sections of a garden hose to spray water on the burning house when they heard fire engines and abandoned the effort.
Ms. Raine said that while firefighters battled the blaze, Mr. Cornett told her, "Maybe you saved our lives."
"I'm glad I was there and glad I had a car phone," she said.
Firefighters from Gamber, Reese and a Baltimore County station brought the fire under control in 40 minutes.
Damage to the house was estimated at $40,000. Fire officials said about one-third of the roof was destroyed and the house suffered fire, smoke and water damage.