Officials investigate Reisterstown apartment fire

Investigators continued the search for the cause of a four-alarm blaze at a Reisterstown senior citizens apartment complex Monday that injured four people and displaced 70, Baltimore County fire officials said yesterday.

Seven families were moved to hotels, said Laura Dennis, communications manager for the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross, adding that it is unknown how long they will have to remain there.

About 8 a.m. Monday, firefighters responded to the blaze at the Meadows at Reisterstown in the 300 block of Cantata Court. During the fire, a section of the four-story building collapsed and its roof was destroyed, fire officials said. More than 70 fire and emergency vehicles from Baltimore and Carroll counties responded to the blaze.

Most of the residents evacuated on their own, and no one suffered serious injury, fire officials said. About 14 Red Cross volunteers were at the scene to assist residents with medication and to provide counseling, Dennis said.

The cost of the damage has not been determined, fire officials said. The building had a working sprinkler system, and smoke alarms were installed in the complex's 80 apartment units, fire officials said.