Glenn Dale Home Fire - Guinevere Road - Family Alerted by Smoke Alarm

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

mebrady@co.pg.md.us     Twitter @PGFDPIO

Just after 10:30 pm, Wednesday, March 12, 2014, Firefighters from Glenn Dale, Bowie and West Lanham Hills Fire Stations as well as other nearby stations were alerted to a house fire.  Fire/EMS units arrived at a 2-story single family home in the 12500 block of Guinevere Road in Glenn Dale to find heavy fire on the second floor.

A rapid search confirmed that all occupants were out of the house and firefighters commenced with extinguishment efforts.  The fire was well advanced and a partial collapse of a portion of the 2^nd floor required firefighters to evacuate the structure and continue the fire fight from the homes exterior.  High winds are believed to have contributed to the rapid fire spread throughout the structure.  Incident commanders were concerned about possible extension to homes on either side from the radiant heat and wind.  An additional collapse of the roof confirmed the correct decision to remove all personnel from the structure early in the incident.

Master stream devices were set up and the bulk of the fire was extinguished in about an hour. 

With the advice of Safety Officers crews approached the structure and completed extinguishment using hand lines.

Firefighters were able to protect the adjacent structures from any radiant heat damage.

The family escaped with time to spare thanks to an activated smoke alarm.  An unattended candle in a second floor bedroom ignited combustibles.  The fire started to grow in intensity and smoke set off a nearby smoke alarm.  The family quickly evacuated the home and was not injured. 

No firefighter injuries were reported.

The fire is listed as “accidental” and fire loss estimated at $150,000.  The family was displaced.

Images provided courtesy of Jim Davis of PGFDFIRE.com