Discovered The Fire

FIRE* Manchester: Manchester, Lineboro and Hampstead were dispatched to a house fire in the 2300 block of Bachman Valley Road at 2:11 p.m. Wednesday. The first firefighters to arrive discovered the fire was confined to mulch around a flower garden. All the equipment was canceled except one engine from Manchester, which was out for 28 minutes.

Investigators from the Maryland state fire marshal's office are asking the public's help with information about two arsons that occurred in Harford County over the weekend, authorities said. The first fire was at Aberdeen High School on Paradise Road, where someone set fire to football and other sports equipment that was stored under the bleachers. A school employee who was on the grounds for another event discovered the fire about 4:15 p.m. Saturday, said Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph G. Zurolo Jr. Damage to the equipment was estimated at $3,000.

A fire at a townhouse in the 8300 block of Pioneer Drive in Severn was brought under control quickly yesterday but did $55,000 worth of damage, according to an Anne Arundel County fire official.A 4-year-old boy discovered the fire at 12: 49 p.m. in the bedroom of the two-story townhouse and ran to tell a parent, said Battalion Chief John Scholz. No one was injured in the fire, he said. The cause is under investigation.Pub Date: 11/17/97

The Harford County Sheriff's Office and the state fire marshal are investigating a suspected firebombing Wednesday night that caused about $60,000 in damage to an Edgewood home where drugs were later found. Fire officials found remnants of "some type of home-fashioned device designed to start a fire" that probably was thrown in through the living room window of the home on Lily Pond Court, said W. Faron Taylor, deputy state fire marshal. Fire investigators notified police after finding drugs, including a marijuana plant, and paraphernalia in the home.

Fire destroyed a camping trailer parked outside a home in th 2200 block of Bluebird Drive in Westminster late Friday night.The trailer's owner, Rafael Muriel Jr., and a passer-by discovered the fire at 11:46 p.m., said Faron Taylor, a deputy state fire marshal.No one was injured.Thirty-three firefighters from New Windsor, Winfield and Union Bridge brought the blaze under control within 15 minutes, Mr. Taylor said.The 1987 Skyline truck camper, valued at $10,000, had been sitting on jacks next to the garage and was unoccupied, Mr. Taylor said.

A Woodbine woman returned home yesterday afternoon and found her two-story farmhouse in blazes, Howard County fire officials said.The 3:36 p.m. fire, which apparently started in the kitchen and spread to the living room, caused at least $25,000 in damage to the home in the 1700 block of Saint Michael Road.Firefighters from Lisbon, from Mount Airy in Carroll County and from Damascus in Prince George's County reponded to the incident and extinguished the fire about 4:30 p.m.Jan Gordon called 911 when she came home and discovered the fire, said Howard Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Don Howell.

A smoldering pile of newspapers caused about $1,500 in damage to Swansfield Elementary School on Cedar Lane in Columbia early yesterday, the state fire marshal's office said. The fire appears to have been set intentionally, Deputy State Fire Marshal Sarina Hart said. A Sun newspaper deliverer discovered the fire outside the school about 3 a.m., the fire marshal's office said. The flames broke a window and melted paint on the window frame, Hart said, but damage was minimal because the fire was outside the building.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office and the state fire marshal are investigating a suspected firebombing Wednesday night that caused about $60,000 in damage to an Edgewood home where drugs were later found. Fire officials found remnants of "some type of home-fashioned device designed to start a fire" that probably was thrown in through the living room window of the home on Lily Pond Court, said W. Faron Taylor, deputy state fire marshal. Fire investigators notified police after finding drugs, including a marijuana plant, and paraphernalia in the home.

Investigators from the Maryland state fire marshal's office are asking the public's help with information about two arsons that occurred in Harford County over the weekend, authorities said. The first fire was at Aberdeen High School on Paradise Road, where someone set fire to football and other sports equipment that was stored under the bleachers. A school employee who was on the grounds for another event discovered the fire about 4:15 p.m. Saturday, said Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph G. Zurolo Jr. Damage to the equipment was estimated at $3,000.

A smoldering pile of newspapers caused about $1,500 in damage to Swansfield Elementary School on Cedar Lane in Columbia early yesterday, the state fire marshal's office said. The fire appears to have been set intentionally, Deputy State Fire Marshal Sarina Hart said. A Sun newspaper deliverer discovered the fire outside the school about 3 a.m., the fire marshal's office said. The flames broke a window and melted paint on the window frame, Hart said, but damage was minimal because the fire was outside the building.

A two-alarm fire destroyed a Westminster home yesterday morning, forcing a family of six to stay with family and friends, authorities said. Gary and Lori Clark, of the 1000 block of Old Manchester Road, escaped unharmed with their four children from a blaze that destroyed their three-bedroom, two-story house, in which they had lived for about seven years, authorities said. The couple's 21-year-old son discovered the fire in a closet next to his first-floor bedroom about 5 a.m. and roused his family.

A smoldering pile of newspapers caused about $1,500 in damage to Swansfield Elementary School on Cedar Lane in Columbia early yesterday, the state fire marshal's office said. The fire appears to have been set intentionally, Deputy State Fire Marshal Sarina Hart said. A Sun newspaper deliverer discovered the fire outside the school about 3 a.m., the fire marshal's office said. The flames broke a window and melted paint on the window frame, Hart said, but damage was minimal because the fire was outside the building.

A smoldering pile of newspapers caused about $1,500 in damage to Swansfield Elementary School on Cedar Lane in Columbia early yesterday, the state fire marshal's office said. The fire appears to have been set intentionally, Deputy State Fire Marshal Sarina Hart said. A Sun newspaper deliverer discovered the fire outside the school about 3 a.m., the fire marshal's office said. The flames broke a window and melted paint on the window frame, Hart said, but damage was minimal because the fire was outside the building.

Icy temperatures and high winds hindered firefighters battling a two-alarm blaze that heavily damaged an 1860s-era log cabin home near Uniontown on Tuesday night, authorities said. It took about three hours to bring the fire in the 4600 block of Bark Hill Road under control. About 40 firefighters from Union Bridge, New Windsor, Taneytown, Westminster, Pleasant Valley, Winfield and Libertytown in Frederick County remained on the scene more than six hours. Deputy Fire Marshal K. Arthur McGhee determined that the fire started accidentally in the chimney flue system.

A Mount Airy man who was pulled from a burning trailer early yesterday apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot after he started the fire, authorities said. Charles W. Shry Jr., 62, of the 7600 block of Mathis Lane was found in his home shortly after neighbors discovered the fire about 2:30 a.m., state fire marshals said. More than 40 firefighters from Mount Airy, Lisbon in Howard County, and Damascus in Montgomery County brought the fire under control within about 35 minutes, but not before volunteers entered the blazing trailer and carried Shry outside, where paramedics tried unsuccessfully to save him. Lt. Terry Katz, commander of the state police barracks in Westminster, said the victim suffered from a serious medical condition.

A fire at a townhouse in the 8300 block of Pioneer Drive in Severn was brought under control quickly yesterday but did $55,000 worth of damage, according to an Anne Arundel County fire official.A 4-year-old boy discovered the fire at 12: 49 p.m. in the bedroom of the two-story townhouse and ran to tell a parent, said Battalion Chief John Scholz. No one was injured in the fire, he said. The cause is under investigation.Pub Date: 11/17/97

A Mount Airy man who was pulled from a burning trailer early yesterday apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot after he started the fire, authorities said. Charles W. Shry Jr., 62, of the 7600 block of Mathis Lane was found in his home shortly after neighbors discovered the fire about 2:30 a.m., state fire marshals said. More than 40 firefighters from Mount Airy, Lisbon in Howard County, and Damascus in Montgomery County brought the fire under control within about 35 minutes, but not before volunteers entered the blazing trailer and carried Shry outside, where paramedics tried unsuccessfully to save him. Lt. Terry Katz, commander of the state police barracks in Westminster, said the victim suffered from a serious medical condition.

Nine antique and classic cars escaped serious damage Sunday afternoon when a blaze erupted in a garage and workshop in the 2100 block of Emory Road near Finksburg, fire officials said.One firefighter suffered minor burns and was treated at the scene, officials said.Donald Watts, owner of the garage and the cars, was sanding furniture on the lower level of the 80-foot-by-25-foot building when he discovered the fire. Mr. Watts and several neighbors were able to push eight of the old vehicles out of the wooden structure.

Baltimore firefighters were busy yesterday battling two fires -- one that prompted a dramatic rescue of three people trapped on the second floor of a rowhouse and another that started when three young children were left home alone.The latest blaze broke out about 2: 30 p.m. in a rowhouse in the 200 block of S. Mount St. in Southwest Baltimore.Fire Department spokesman Battalion Chief Hector L. Torres said the mother of the children, ages 3, 5 and 10, left them at home with their aunt. The aunt then left the house, leaving a pot of food cooking on the stove, which sparked the fire.

FIRE* Manchester: Manchester, Lineboro and Hampstead were dispatched to a house fire in the 2300 block of Bachman Valley Road at 2:11 p.m. Wednesday. The first firefighters to arrive discovered the fire was confined to mulch around a flower garden. All the equipment was canceled except one engine from Manchester, which was out for 28 minutes.