Electrical Fire

FireWestminster: Firefighters responded at 7: 32 p.m. Tuesday to an electrical fire at Carroll County Agricultural Center. Units were out 42 minutes.

FiresEldersburg: Firefighters responded at 4: 13 a.m. Friday to a house fire in the 1000 block of Berkley Drive. Units were out 22 minutes.Gamber: Firefighters responded at 6: 19 a.m. Thursday to an electrical fire in the 3400 block of Farmstead Drive. Units were out one hour and 10 minutes.

PoliceWestminster: A resident of Poole Road told police Thursday that someone took property from his vehicle while it was parked on the street. Loss is estimated at $582.Westminster: A resident of Royer Road told police Thursday that someone broke into a shed on his property. Damage and loss are estimated at $1,560.FiresWestminster: Firefighters responded at 5: 28 p.m. Sunday to a mulch fire in the first block of E.Greene St. Units were out 14 minutes.Westminster: Firefighters responded at 5: 18 p.m. Sunday to a mulch fire in the 400 block of N. Center St. Units were out 12 minutes.

FiresUnion Bridge: Firefighters from Union Bridge, New Windsor, Taneytown and Frederick County, responded at 12: 04 p.m. Sunday to an electrical fire on Rinehart Alley. Units were out 34 minutes.Union Bridge: F irefighters responded at 10: 12 a.m. Friday to an alarm in the 500 block of Union Bridge Road. Units were out 16 minutes.Pub Date: 1/19/99

Improper wiring in an electrical outlet caused a fire that damaged a warehouse on Railroad Avenue in Westminster early yesterday morning, the state fire marshal's office said.The fire was discovered by Westminster Security Fire Alarm and a passer-by shortly after midnight in the 100 block of Railroad Ave. Firefighters found smoke coming from the 149-by-85-foot wood-frame warehouse upon arrival.Firefighters found the fire in an enclosed storage room and confined it to that area. An activated sprinkler system helped keep the fire from spreading, officials said.

FiresHampstead: Firefighters from Hampstead and Manchester responded at 2: 18 p.m. Tuesday to an electrical fire on Panther Drive. Units were out 12 minutes.Manchester: Firefighters responded at 11: 14 a.m. Tuesday to an auto fire at Route 27 and Snydersburg Road. Units were out 18 minutes.

A three-alarm fire last night heavily damaged a 138-year-old historic residence that was originally built in the heart of Annapolis to serve as the city's first synagogue.The fire was discovered shortly before 8: 30 p.m. when a passer-by saw flames coming from the second floor of the three-story stucco building at 183 Duke of Gloucester St. and banged on the door to alert the two tenants. They were in the kitchen and unaware of the blaze.The tenants, Catherine Lange and Laura Zandenberge, escaped without injuries, but a firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation at Anne Arundel Medical Center, fire officials said.

FiresSykesville: Firefighters responded at 7: 20 p.m. Thursday to an auto fire in the 1100 block of Bridgeport Court. Units were out 43 minutes.Sykesville: Firefighters responded at 6: 40 p.m. Thursday to an electrical fire in the 2600 block of Route 97. Units were out 38 minutes.Pub Date: 8/24/98

ClarificationYesterday's coverage of the power outage at Saturday's Preakness inadvertently left the impression that officials at Pimlico offered no apologies for inconvenience to fans.In fact, the front-page story about the outage should have included quotes from Joseph A. De Francis, president and CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club, praising the "patience and sportsmanship of our fans the greatest fans in the country." De Francis also apologized in remarks to other news organizations.In addition, a sports column criticizing De Francis for failing to apologize referred only to De Francis' remarks on the victory stand.

FireSykesville: Firefighters responded at 7: 42 a.m. Wednesday to a tree fire on Dundee Court. Units were out 25 minutes.Sykesville: Firefighters assisted Howard County at 11 a.m. Wednesday, responding to an electrical fire at a school in the 11000 block of Frederick Road. Units were out 10 minutes.Sykesville: Firefighters responded at 2: 49 p.m. Wednesday to a fire on Route 32 and Raincliffe Road. Units were out 20 minutes.Sykesville: Firefighters responded at 7: 15 p.m. Wednesday to burning electrical wires in the 5700 block of Bartholow Road.

Four people were injured, including one who suffered serious burns, in an electrical fire Saturday afternoon at Pharmaceutics International Inc. in Hunt Valley, Baltimore County fire authorities said. Fire officials responded to a call just before 1 p.m. for a building fire in the 10800 block of Gilroy Road near Beaver Dam Road, authorities said. Baltimore County Fire Department Lt. James Artis said four electricians were working inside a power room when an electrical short occurred. One suffered third-degree burns to the upper body.

Woman hurt escaping fire in Northwest Baltimore 1 A female resident of an apartment in Northwest Baltimore was injured yesterday after she jumped from her second-floor balcony to escape a fire, the city Fire Department said. The unidentified woman, who injured her ankle, was treated at the scene in the 2200 block of Tucker Lane before being taken to a hospital, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a Fire Department spokesman. Firefighters responded to a call about 3:30 p.m. at the Windsor Forest Apartments.

An electrical fire Saturday night in the basement of a nursing facility in Rossville forced the evacuation or relocation of more than 100 patients, a county Fire Department spokesman said. There were no injuries. Shortly before 11 p.m., a fire was reported in an electrical room controlling the elevators at Manor Care in the 6600 block of Ridge Road, bringing firefighters from several stations, said Lt. James Artis, the spokesman. The fire is being investigated. Artis said 83 patients were taken from their rooms to the first floor by firefighters and staff members.

An explosion sent a metal manhole cover flying into the air yesterday evening, apparently caused by an electrical fire that burned for hours under North Charles Street downtown, causing power to be cut to a large swath of downtown, slightly injuring a pedestrian and emptying restaurants and bars of patrons. Traffic was diverted off one of the city's main thoroughfares starting shortly after 5 p.m., during the height of the evening rush hour, and the closures continued into this morning.

Smoke and carbon monoxide from an underground electrical fire prompted the evacuation yesterday of a 15-story apartment building in Towson that houses elderly and disabled residents, according to Baltimore County fire authorities. About 200 people - including several in wheelchairs - had to be temporarily relocated to nearby shelters while fire officials worked to investigate the fire with workers from Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., a county Fire Department spokesman said. No injuries were reported, officials said.

An electrical fire in the subbasement of Circuit Courthouse East on Wednesday shut down both downtown courthouses yesterday, resulting in the postponement of dozens of cases and disabling the computer system in the juvenile court on Gay Street, which remained open. Court officials said they expect both Calvert Street courthouses to be open today. The small fire, which caused no injuries, exposed the poor conditions of an antiquated building and system that desperately needs to be updated, said Circuit Administrative Judge Marcella A. Holland.

Utility crews continued to toil underground yesterday, but City Hall staff and thousands of office workers were back on the job, one day after an electrical fire below Baltimore streets shut down power and businesses in part of downtown. With power restored but traffic signals still unsynchronized, commuters endured delays. City officials warn that more of the same can be expected all week, as the slow process of manually retiming the lights is completed. "We're just asking motorists to please bear with us," said David Brown, a spokesman for the city Transportation Department.

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.

Baltimore's fire department described the trouble as a power surge in a basement generator, but electronic ripples from the problem at 10 E. Baltimore St. yesterday evening caused headaches across the nation as thousands of Web sites came crashing down. Firefighters were dispatched at 6:39 p.m. to investigate smoke in the W.R. Grace Building, the department said, adding that there was no fire - just smoke from the overheating generator. The building is home to Alabanza Corp., one of the nation's largest Web-hosting companies and the site of a ceremony in April to mark its expansion in taking several additional floors there - and its decision in 2002 against a move to Howard County.

A three-alarm fire last night heavily damaged the historic Manor Tavern, a popular northern Baltimore County restaurant and bar. Firefighters were called to the tavern, in the 15000 block of Old York Road in Monkton, shortly after 10 p.m. by a person reporting an electrical fire. It was not immediately known where in the three-story structure the fire originated. By the time firefighters arrived, the second and third floors were ablaze. "It was pretty intense," said nearby resident Sarah Scott, who watched the fire with her husband from a parking lot about 70 feet away.