Fire at Laurel Oil Company

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

Firefighters battled a fire at the Laurel Fuel Oil and Heating Company on Wednesday evening that caused significant damage to the business.  At around 7:00 pm firefighter/medics were alerted to a building fire at 101 Main Street.  Fire/EMS units arrived on the scene to find a 2-story building with offices on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor with an attached 100 X 75 garage with fire showing from the garage.

A "Task Force" was sounded bringing additional firefighters, support vehicles and incident commanders to the scene.

It was quickly determined that the garage housed three home heating oil delivery trucks.  First arriving firefighters attempted an initial interior attack on the fire and then evacuated the building to regroup.  The bulk of the fire was knocked down from the exterior using master stream devices before returning to an interior attack.  It required about 45 minutes for 75 firefighters to knock down the fire.  Firefighter/Medics from Prince George's, Montgomery, Howard and Anne Arundel Counties operated on the fire ground.

One firefighter sustained a shoulder injury while battling the fire.  He was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The cause of the fire is under investigation with a preliminary fire loss estimated at $750,000 for the building and it's contents.