Car Fire

Cars leaving Baltimore via the Jones Falls Expressway experienced significant delays early Monday morning as fire and police crews worked to clear a car fire. The fire was in the northbound lanes of Interstate 83 near Guilford Avenue. The lanes were back open as of about 2:30 a.m. The southbound lanes near 28th Street were also temporarily shut down by police after the Ravens' Super Bowl victory Sunday night because of congestion downtown, but were reopened by 2 a.m. Many motorists leaving the city after watching the Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers found themselves slowed to a crawl as traffic backed up.

Among the 49 calls the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department received for medical and fire-rescue service during the period March 3-10, were the following: Stafford Drive, 300 block, 1:13 p.m. March 8. Crews from the Arbutus volunteer station and Catonsville and Halethorpe career stations responded to the report of an unconscious person, possibly due to an overdose, in Catonsville. One person taken to a local hospital. East Drive, 5400 block, 5:25 p.m. March 7. Crews from the Arbutus volunteer station and Halethorpe career station responded to the report of an woman about to give birth in Arbutus and transported one person to a local hospital.

Baltimore County police have identified the Carroll County man who was found in a burning car in Upperco last week. John David Metcalf, 48, of the 4600 block of Buffington Lane in Taneytown was found March 12 after county police and fire responded to reports of a vehicle fire in the 4600 block of Black Road. He was dead at the scene. After an investigation, police determined that the engine in Metcalf's vehicle caught fire when he stopped in the parking lot of Grace United Methodist Church in the 4600 block of Black Rock Road.

City confirmed Saturday that a man and a woman whose bodies were found in a burning car in West Baltimore early Friday morning had been shot. Police said it was still not clear whether they were killed by bullets or the fire and had no more information on the cause of the blaze. The fire was discovered at about 5 a.m. in the 2000 block of N. Monroe St. in the Mondawmin neighborhood, fire officials said. "Whether or not they are fire victims or otherwise has to be determined by the state medical examiner," Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin Cartwright said Friday.

Two boys were arrested and charged in connection with a car fire in Edgewood Friday that investigators say was deliberately set. Shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a vehicle fire in the 400 block of Edgewood Road, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The fire involved a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier which was parked at the rear of a commercial property, the Fire Marshal's Office said in a media release. Four firefighters were able to control the fire in 10 minutes.

A car caught fire shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday on Interstate 295 north just before the road turns into Russell Street in the city, giving off smoke and closing the right lane of the highway, a city fire dispatcher said. Traffic was passing on the left side and the burning vehicle was on the right shoulder as of about 2:15 p.m., officials said. Fire engines 14 and 55 responded to the scene, which was expected to be cleared shortly, officials said. No injuries were reported.

A Mr. Tire employee is recovering from first- and second-degree burns after a car fire broke out in the Parkville auto repair shop Friday. County fire officials responded to the shop in the 7700 block of Harford Road at around 3:50 p.m. where they saw smoke and flames in the front of the building, and found that a man had suffered burns, according to a release from the department. Emergency personnel took the patient to Bayview Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, fire officials said.

City confirmed Saturday that a man and a woman whose bodies were found in a burning car in West Baltimore early Friday morning had been shot. Police said it was still not clear whether they were killed by bullets or the fire and had no more information on the cause of the blaze. The fire was discovered at about 5 a.m. in the 2000 block of N. Monroe St. in the Mondawmin neighborhood, fire officials said. "Whether or not they are fire victims or otherwise has to be determined by the state medical examiner," Baltimore City Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin Cartwright said Friday.

Iris, the county's arson-detecting dog, is earning more praise and pats on the head, this time for sniffing out the cause of a car fire at a Glen Burnie apartment complex. The black Labrador retriever, who has been made an honorary county employee by County Executive Janet S. Owens, found traces of a flammable liquid on the exterior of the burned-out 1996 Oldsmobile. Iris also detected traces of the liquid on a suspect's clothes and on the seat of his car, authorities said. Investigators knew the fire wasn't caused by a mechanical problem or leaking fuel because the engine compartment and the fuel tank were intact, Division Chief John M. Scholz said.

* Hampstead: Firefighters extinguished a car fire on Northbrook Drive at 12:25 a.m. Tuesday.

Cars leaving Baltimore via the Jones Falls Expressway experienced significant delays early Monday morning as fire and police crews worked to clear a car fire. The fire was in the northbound lanes of Interstate 83 near Guilford Avenue. The lanes were back open as of about 2:30 a.m. The southbound lanes near 28th Street were also temporarily shut down by police after the Ravens' Super Bowl victory Sunday night because of congestion downtown, but were reopened by 2 a.m. Many motorists leaving the city after watching the Ravens defeat the San Francisco 49ers found themselves slowed to a crawl as traffic backed up.

Two boys were arrested and charged in connection with a car fire in Edgewood Friday that investigators say was deliberately set. Shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a vehicle fire in the 400 block of Edgewood Road, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The fire involved a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier which was parked at the rear of a commercial property, the Fire Marshal's Office said in a media release. Four firefighters were able to control the fire in 10 minutes.

A Mr. Tire employee is recovering from first- and second-degree burns after a car fire broke out in the Parkville auto repair shop Friday. County fire officials responded to the shop in the 7700 block of Harford Road at around 3:50 p.m. where they saw smoke and flames in the front of the building, and found that a man had suffered burns, according to a release from the department. Emergency personnel took the patient to Bayview Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, fire officials said.

The Susquehanna Hose Company will hold an open house Saturday, Oct. 13, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Division 4 Firehouse, 911 Revolution St. in Havre de Grace. The open house will feature fire engine rides, aerial truck basket rides, an auto extraction demonstration and a car fire demonstration. Sparky the Dog also will visit. The Safe House Trailer from the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department will be on site for kids to go through, and the Harford 911 Center will have an information table set up. Free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors will be given out, and there will be food and drinks for all in attendance.

A car caught fire on the shoulder of Interstate 95 North near the exit for Russell Street in Baltimore Sunday afternoon, briefly slowing traffic, according to a city fire dispatcher. Fire crews responded at 3:48 p.m. to the car fire, which was contained to the right shoulder of the highway, the dispatcher said. There were no injuries, the dispatcher said. The fire was extinguished and the vehicle had been cleared from the roadway by about 4:10 p.m., the dispatcher said. All lanes of the highway were open, she said.

Two cars were set ablaze early Tuesday morning in Pumphrey, and there was also an effort to burn a recreational vehicle there, Anne Arundel County fire officials said. One of the car fires spread to a mobile home in the community in the northern part of the county, but officials said no one was injured. Several sheds were broken into as well. Division Chief Michael E. Cox said firefighters were called to a car fire around 3:45 a.m. on Coach Lane, and firefighters in a second responding unit spotted the other car fire nearby.

FIRE* Mount Airy: Mount Airy responded to a car fire in the first block of N. Main St. at 11:08 a.m. Friday.

A Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue vehicle collided with a Honda Civic in Ellicott City Saturday night after the car's driver failed to yield the right of way, police said today. The 17-year-old driver of the Honda was taken to Howard County General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, county police said. Two fire-and-rescue employees in a marked Chevrolet Suburban were responding to an emergency call around 10:15 p.m. with lights and siren on when the crash occurred, according to police.