Occupant Injured Attempting to Rescue Dog in Oxon Hill House Fire

MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930

Prince George's County Firefighter/Medics battled a house fire late this morning in Oxon Hill.  Firefighters arrived at the single family home in the 5600 block of Delaware Drive around 11:45 am and discovered a working fire in the basement with heavy smoke billowing from the structure.  While still responding to the scene, Public Safety Communications Dispatchers provided an update to firefighters that the home occupant had escaped safely, however, re-entered the burning structure to search for his dog.

Firefighters arrived and ensured the occupant was outside and safe and advanced hose lines into the home and extinguished the fire.  The fire was extinguished within about 10 minutes of arrival.  The cause of the fire is accidental and appears to have been caused by an overloaded extension cord.  Preliminary fire loss estimates are $40,000.

The occupant, an adult male, sustained injuries after re-entering the home and was transported to an area hospital in "fair" condition.  Unfortunately, the dog he was attempting to retrieve perished in the fire.

Our advice is that once out of the house, stay out.  This safety message is one of the most difficult to convey to the public; never go back into a burning structure once you are out even if a loved one or valuables remain inside.  More often than not when this occurs firefighters need to search for two victims as opposed to just one.

Washington Post story click here.