Discovered The Fire

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.

Firefighting equipment was sent back for the fourth time to one stubborn silo fire and for the second time to another silo fire when they reignited over the weekend.Engines from New Windsor, Union Bridge and Westminster responded to the fire at the Rauland Roop farm in the 4200 block of Sams Creek Road on Sunday afternoon.Smoke was seen rising from the top of the 80-foot silo at 2:54 p.m. Firefighters remained at the scene for 4 1/2 hours.A spokesman said the blaze was easy to find because it had burned through the wooden door at the ninth level, but was difficult to extinguish.

A two-car garage and machine shop was destroyed by a fire that erupted shortly after 9 a.m. Friday on a farm in the 1800 block of Trevanion Road near Taneytown.The blaze spewed heavy black smoke several hundred feet that could be seen 12 miles east in Westminster, and brought firefighters from Taneytown, Harney, Union Bridge and New Windsor.The firefighters were unable to save the contents of the large, concrete block structure.Heat from the fire melted the vinyl siding off the end of a house 20 feet from the garage.

A two-alarm fire declared "suspicious" by the state fire marshal's office erupted in the basement of a vacant three-story house at 152 W. Main St. about 3:30 p.m. yesterday.The blaze extended from the basement into the wall on the west side of the house, which neighbors said had recently been renovated.Firefighters had to remove pieces of the metal siding, chop through the insulation and cut into the wood structure of the building to get to the flames from outside as other firefighters fought flames inside to bring the fire under control.

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.

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.

Two children who had just moved into a Southeast Baltimore neighborhood were killed yesterday afternoon when fire engulfed their Fleet Street rowhouse, trapping the youngsters in a second-floor room.Several neighbors and patrons of a restaurant across the street broke down the front door in a failed attempt to get past the smoke and flames to save the children."It was unbelievable," said Rick Smith, a chef at Fins restaurant, who watched the rescue attempt. "It was thick columns of black smoke.

$100,000 in damage caused by fireA fire yesterday in the garage of a Wilde Lake village family that caused about $100,000 in damage probably was caused by improperly discarded ashes, the State Fire Marshal said.No one was hurt in the incident.Jesse Ingram, who lives in the 5100 block of Flowertuft Court, discovered the fire about 10: 01 a.m. when he heard a crackling noise coming from his two-car garage, the Fire Marshal said.The blaze probably was started by ashes from a wood-burning stove placed in the garage, the Fire Marshal said.

Fire officials are investigating the cause of a blaze that destroyed a two-story house near New Midway in Frederick County late Monday.The blaze was brought under control in 45 minutes by 75 firefighters from eight volunteer companies, including Union Bridge in Carroll County. Firefighters estimated the loss at $150,000.The house in the 12500 block of Legore Road is owned by a Silver Spring doctor. The occupants, Lewis F. Peters, 46, who discovered the fire at 9: 15 p.m., and George R. Grape, 72, were not injured, fire marshals said.

A three-alarm fire destroyed a two-story home in Smallwood early yesterday, displacing the 65-year-old homeowner and slightly injuring several firefighters, authorities said. Firefighters from Reese, Westminster, Gamber, Sykesville, Pleasant Valley and Winfield responded. Firefighters were on the scene for six hours.The loss was estimated at $75,000.The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause, officials said.The homeowner, Doris Rash, discovered the fire when she investigated a noise on her enclosed back porch about 3 a.m., said Marion Davidson Jr., chief of the Reese & Community Volunteer Fire Company.