Damaged By Fire

The Harryman House, a popular Reisterstown restaurant an tavern, received extensive damage early today when a fire raced through the building.No one was in the restaurant when the fire broke out about 2 a.m. and no injuries were reported, officials said. Police were hunting for possible residents of two upstairs apartments.Baltimore County police said the blaze apparently was caused by discarded smoking materials but it remains under investigation.The fire was reported by a passer-by who saw smoke and flames.

Solley school design money approvedThe state has approved a $1.6 million grant in planning money for a new Solley Elementary School, clearing the way for construction of a facility that would relieve crowding in three local schools.The state Board of Public Works turned down the county's request last January but approved the funding last week."I'm tickled pink with it," said Pasadena Councilman Carl G. Holland. "We've been working tremendously on this for two years."Mr. Holland also said that Jane Ness has donated almost five acres of property to the school system with the understanding that it be used for the new school.

A two-alarm fire that started in ceiling electrical wiring caused at least $200,000 damage to the Harford County mental health clinic Friday night, authorities said.More than 100 volunteers from Bel Air, Abingdon, Fallston, Joppa-Magnolia and Level responded to the blaze at the annex on Hays Street in Bel Air.Using 15 pieces of equipment, firefighters battled the fire for 90 minutes before bringing it under control at 11:30 p.m., authorities said.Bob Thomas, deputy chief state fire marshal, said the fire started in the ceiling above a furnace and janitorial closet, and spread across the ceiling to the walls.

An early morning electrical fire at the Hamilton Ridge apartment complex in Northeast Baltimore caused $130,000 in damage and forced 14 families out of their homes.The fire broke out in the storage room of a building in the 4800 block of Hamilton Ave. at 4:38 a.m. and spread to the adjoining building, said city fire department spokesman Capt. Hector Torres.Twenty-two garden apartments were damaged by fire, smoke or water, Captain Torres said. None of the residents was injured, but at least three cats were killed in the blaze, residents said.

A three-alarm fire last night caused about $300,000 damage )) to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Catonsville and sent a firefighter to a hospital for treatment of burns.The fire, in the 1000 block of Frederick Road, was reported at 11:30 p.m. Additional alarms were made at 11:48 p.m. and 12:04 a.m.More than 50 firefighters from a dozen stations, including one from Baltimore and one from Ellicott City in Howard County, battled the blaze before bringing it under control about 1:15 this morning.

A house in Mount Washington and two antiques shops on Main Street in Ellicott City, all of which predated the Civil War, were heavily damaged by fire late last night.Preliminary damage estimates in both fires totaled more than $500,000, fire officials said.A two-alarm fire at the Mount Washington house at 1709 Sulgrave Ave. burned out the interior and most of the roof and rear of the 2 1/2 -story frame structure that was part of a long-term restoration project by the owner, Thomas W. Mele.

A mother and her three children were forced to flee their northwest Baltimore home last night when a fire, ruled as an arson by investigators, extensively damaged the dwelling next door that was undergoing renovation.About 20 minutes before the Reisterstown Road fire, said a city fire investigator, someone broke into the former Avalon movie theater in the 4200 block of Park Heights Ave. a few blocks away and set fire to several seats, curtains, wall decorations and trash.Within the past two weeks, the investigator added, two houses also in the 3800 block of Reisterstown Road have been damaged by fire, one of them deliberately.

A mother and her three children were forced to flee their northwest Baltimore home last night when a fire, ruled as an arson by investigators, extensively damaged the dwelling next door that was undergoing renovation.About 20 minutes before the Reisterstown Road fire, said a city fire investigator, someone broke into the former Avalon movie theater in the 4200 block of Park Heights Ave. a few blocks away and set fire to several seats, curtains, wall decorations and trash.Within the past two weeks, the investigator added, two houses also in the 3800 block of Reisterstown Road have been damaged by fire, one of them deliberately.

Fifty tenants and more than 100 employees have been displaced as a result of a six-alarm fire that extensively damaged the Hillendale Square building in the 1000 block of Taylor Ave. in Baltimore County.The fire, believed started by an electrical malfunction in a third-floor office, was discovered at 5:30 a.m. yesterday by a passing cab driver who called the fire department, police said.No civilians were injured, but five firefighters were treated at hospitals for minor injuries, smoke inhalation or heat exhaustion, police said.