MEDIA CONTACT: Mark E. Brady, Chief Spokesperson, 240-508-7930
mebrady@co.pg.md.us @PGFDPIO
Anyone that has spent anytime outside today knows how 100 to
110 degrees feels. It is hot and
uncomfortable and difficult to deal with for long periods of time. How do you think running into a burning home
where temperatures are anywhere from 800 to 1200 degrees wearing multiple
layers of heavy personal protective gear??
That is life in the day of a firefighter and in Prince George’s County today
firefighters battled two homes fires. Both
fires had accidental causes.
The first incident occurred just after 12 Noon in Upper
Marlboro. Several 911 calls were
received from neighbors reporting a house was on fire in the 9800 block of
Healy Court. Firefighters arrived to
find a split-level home with fire showing from the top floor and roof. Firefighters searched the home and found no
human occupants but did rescue one dog suffering from burns. The
fire started in the top-level kitchen and extended into the attic and
eventually burned through the roof of the house.
There were 41 firefighters on the scene that required about
30 minutes to completely extinguish the fire that caused an estimated $100,000
in fire loss. A second dog was found
deceased inside the house. The County
Citizen Services Unit will assist the displaced occupants.
Fire Investigators performed a cause and origin
investigation and determined the fire started on the stove in the kitchen. The homeowners arrived on the scene during
the incident and told Investigators that their pet dogs had been known to jump
on the front of the stove in search of food scraps and in doing so, turn on one
of the burners. Today, pizza boxes were on
the stovetop and one of the burners was found in the “on” position. Fire Investigators have labeled this fire as
“accidental.”
Due to todays high temperatures all firefighters were
rotated a rehab area where they were provided hydration and allowed to cool
down. Medics would evaluate the
firefighters vital signs and would release them to go back to work once within
normal limits. One firefighter was found
to be suffering from dehydration and treated at an area hospital and released.
The second incident occurred in Bowie at around 2:40
pm. An occupant of a 3-story townhouse
in the 6300 block of Gwinnett Lane was alerted to a fire on the top floor by a
working smoke alarm. 911 was called and
firefighters arrived a short time later to find residential sprinklers had, for
the most part, extinguished the fire.
Firefighters ensured the fire was completely out and ventilated the
residual smoke.
Due to the relatively small nature of the fire thanks to
containment by the sprinklers, firefighters were able to return to service very
quickly, no one was injured, no displacement and fire loss was limited to
$1,000.
The cause of the fire is accidental and attributed to a
malfunction in an electrical outlet.
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| Conditions on arrival on Healy court. (Image by Michael White - Morningside) |
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| Image from the front of Healy Court during initial operations. (by Michael White-Morningside) |
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| Firefighter Bowen, District Heights Truck 826, is thanks by Healy Court homeowner for rescuing his pet dog. (Image by PGFD) |
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