MEDIA UPDATE - Oxon Hill Fire Fatality from 10-28-2016 - Belfast Place

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

MEBrady@co.pg.md.us     @PGFDPIO

On Friday, October 28, at about 11:30 pm, Prince George’s County Firefighter/Medics arrived on the scene of a working house fire in Oxon Hill. 

The engine from Oxon Hill Fire/EMS Station 821 arrived in the 6700 block of Belfast Place to find a 1-story, with basement, single family home with fire showing.  A 911 call provided information to call takers that a male occupant was trapped in the house.  This information was relayed from call takers to dispatchers to responding firefighters.  Upon arrival firefighters initiated an aggressive interior attack on the fire and simultaneous search for the trapped occupant.

Within minutes, the bulk of the fire was extinguished and an adult male occupant was found deceased on the first floor.  Upon further investigation it was determined the area of origin was the living room with the cause of the fire remaining under investigation.  The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in fire loss.

A working smoke alarm did sound an alert in the basement, however, no smoke alarm was found on the first floor where the fire originated and the deceased was located.

A female home occupant, in her 80’s, was able to escape prior to the fire departments arrival.  She was treated on the scene by medics and transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and treatment.  Her injuries were not life threatening.

The deceased has been identified as George W. Nauflett, DOB 2-9-1932, 84 years-of-age of Oxon Hill, MD.  This is the seventh residential fire fatality in calendar year 2016 in the County.  Within hours of this incident another incident occurred in Landover resulting in the eighth fire related fatality this year to date.

The Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department recommends that a working 10-year smoke alarm and CO detector be installed on every level of your home, especially outside of sleeping areas.  We further recommend that smoke alarms be installed inside of every bedroom and that occupants sleep with bedroom doors closed.  

Furthermore, we strongly recommend that residents plan and practice 2 ways out of every room in your home and designate a safe meeting place outside.  Exit drills apply to all residents that reside in homes, townhouses, dorms, apartments, etc.  

County residents in need of a working smoke alarm should call 311 and request an alarm be installed in your house and townhouse, free of charge.

Recent years residential fire related fatalities of accidental origin:

2015 - 3
2014 - 5

Date of Birth corrected on Tuesday morning