Robert Gray and his fiancee returned yesterday to survey the damage from the fire that tore through their apartment complex near Woodlawn, a four-alarm blaze that left them without a place to live and that officials said was started by accident.
Looking up at his apartment, Gray recounted all the things he lost: a fluffy cat named Jasmine; a collection of five guitars; sails for his 19-foot boat, which had been in the parking lot of the Queens Ridge Apartments on Giard Drive.
"It's just so unbelievable," said Gray, 48, a welder-fabricator. "I think the laughing is trying to cover up the fact that I want to cry."
Gray wasn't allowed into the destroyed building yesterday, but some other residents forced from their apartments by Monday's blaze were able to pick up some belongings yesterday.
The fire, which injured five firefighters and could be seen for miles, was reported about 2:30 p.m. and spread quickly across two large apartment sections and threatened to consume a third before Baltimore County firefighters brought it under control.
Elise Armacost, a Fire Department spokeswoman, said investigators determined that the fire started in a second-floor apartment occupied by a man and two children. She said investigators interviewed the man, who was cooperative, and were "confident that no foul play was involved."
Fire officials said the man was asleep in the apartment when the fire started.
Investigators "feel certain it was accidental in nature, but without being able to examine evidence, we can't specifically say what caused the fire," Armacost said. Damage is estimated at $850,000.
The fire displaced 27 adults and 21 children, many of whom are receiving assistance from the local American Red Cross chapter. Most of the families found shelter with relatives or friends. Gray and his fiancee were placed temporarily in a nearby motel.
"We worked very closely with property management to identify the needs of everybody," said Kevin Burr, director of emergency services for the Red Cross's Central Maryland chapter.
The damage was being evaluated yesterday by officials with Belfor Property Restoration, a company that has been hired to clean up and make repairs at the complex.
Scott Dustin, a Belfor estimator, said workers would be cleaning up water and repairing apartments in building No. 9, which sustained mainly smoke and water damage. Next door, building No. 7 had a collapsed roof and third floor, and damage to the outer walls. Each building has three floors, with four apartments on each floor.
