Fire Apparatus

Odenton Volunteer Fire Co. invites the public to its annual fire prevention/open house/Christmas party from 1 to 5 p.m. today.Sparky,Santa and many others will be on hand as well as firefighters from the Odenton team.Refreshments will be served, and video displays and fire apparatus will be available. Come meet community-oriented volunteers.The station is at 1425 Annapolis Road, near Fort Meade on Route 175.

Firefighters from several volunteer companies in Harford and Baltimore counties battled a woods fire in Fallston Tuesday afternoon. On Friday evening, another woods fire in Joppatowne required several area fire companies to control. The Fallston fire was reported in the rear of Fallston Valley Drive at about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association's media Facebook page. Several dozen firefighters from volunteer companies in Fallston, Bel Air, Kingsville and Long Green responded to the blaze, which consumed several acres, association spokesman Rich Gardiner said.

FirefightersFor a weekend of family fun that includes a carnival and firefighter skill competitions, attend the Carlisle Firefighters' Jamboree and Fair Friday through Sunday at the fairgrounds in Carlisle, Pa.The three-day event also features antique fire apparatus competitions, antique and modern fire apparatus displays, fire and personal safety seminars and live entertainment. Kids will take fire truck rides and learn about fire safety.Gates open at 8 a.m. each day. Admission is $4 for adults and free for children under 12. Call (717)

Occupants of an Edgewood townhouse escaped without injury Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen, according to one of the responding fire companies. At 2:35 a.m., Harford County 9-1-1 received a call for a house fire in the 600 block of Harpark Court, near Edgewood Road, according to a media release from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, which was alerted to respond at 2:38 a.m., along with the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company and the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department, Edgewood Station.

Art in the Park kicks off Saturday The Carroll County Arts Council will present Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Westminster City Hall. More than 80 artists will participate in the juried art show, with some providing demonstrations of their work in wood carving, pottery wheel, screen painting and cartoon illustration. A range of art styles will be available. Entertainment will include a dozen roaming musicians performing on dulcimer, banjo, flute, harp, accordion and voice.

Rescue 5 from New York City, the fire company that lost 11 firefighters in the attack Sept. 11 on the World Trade Center, will appear at the Maryland Antique Fire Apparatus Muster in Westminster next month. In partnership with the Chesapeake Fire Apparatus Association, the muster will be held Saturday, rain or shine. This marks the first time the annual event has been held at the Carroll County Farm Museum. Gates will open at 8:30 a.m. Rollback admission price is $1.50 per person; children age 6 and younger will be admitted free with a paying adult.

A fire last night aboard the Danish freighter Adrian Maersk, which was undergoing repairs at the Sparrows Point shipyard, is being investigated by county fire officials and shipyard police.The fire reportedly broke out about 10 p.m. while the ship was in dry-dock at the north ship yard near Warehouse Road and workmen were either removing paint or painting a section of the ship.The cause of the fire and the extent of damage was not available.Reports that two workmen were made ill by paint fumes carried by the smoke and heat could not be confirmed.

Baltimore Fire Department officials were investigating a small fire that damaged the interior of a portable classroom at Carver Vocational Technical High School yesterday afternoon. Members of the school's track team had left the building moments earlier after changing out of their uniforms, a spokesman said, and no injuries were reported. Reported at 5:45 p.m., the fire broke out in a one-story, vinyl-covered, 10-classroom portable building near the rear of the school in the 2200 block of Presstman St. It was brought under control in less than 30 minutes by firefighters with about 10 pieces of fire apparatus, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, the spokesman.

A three-alarm fire extensively damaged a West Baltimore tire warehouse and recycling operation last night. Firefighters were called to the Emanuel Tire Co. in the 1300 block of Moreland Ave. about 10:45 p.m. and found flames soaring 30 to 40 feet in the air from a one-story, corrugated metal building. The structure held an unknown number of used tires being stored for recycling. Twenty-five pieces of fire apparatus and 60 firefighters responded to the blaze. Firefighters used at least two aerial towers to help fight the blaze.

Occupants of an Edgewood townhouse escaped without injury Tuesday morning after a fire broke out in the kitchen, according to one of the responding fire companies. At 2:35 a.m., Harford County 9-1-1 received a call for a house fire in the 600 block of Harpark Court, near Edgewood Road, according to a media release from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, which was alerted to respond at 2:38 a.m., along with the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company and the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department, Edgewood Station.

Firefighters were called to control a small fire in an Edgewood home Monday morning. Just after 9:30 a.m., Harford County 9-1-1 received a call reporting a fire in the first block of McCann Street in Edgewood. The first unit on the scene reported "smoke visible," according to monitored Harford County emergency radio broadcasts. Fire units from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, Abingdon Fire Company and the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire Department responded, according to a news release from Joppa-Magnolia VFC. The Joppa-Magnolia fire chief was first to arrive and reported a small fire in an enclosed porch attached to a two-story, single family home, according to the release.

An early morning fire at a Randallstown apartment complex has displaced 16 people and damaged 12 units. One firefighter from the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company received minor injuries and has been treated and released from an area hospital. Firefighters responded shortly after 2 a.m., when the the Baltimore County 911 Center received several calls about a fire on the third floor of a building in the 3600 block Yennar Lane, near North Rolling Road. The fire spread quickly across the attic and through the roof of two adjoining buildings.

Baltimore Fire Department officials were investigating a small fire that damaged the interior of a portable classroom at Carver Vocational Technical High School yesterday afternoon. Members of the school's track team had left the building moments earlier after changing out of their uniforms, a spokesman said, and no injuries were reported. Reported at 5:45 p.m., the fire broke out in a one-story, vinyl-covered, 10-classroom portable building near the rear of the school in the 2200 block of Presstman St. It was brought under control in less than 30 minutes by firefighters with about 10 pieces of fire apparatus, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, the spokesman.

For the second time in two years, lightning struck a Perry Hall condominium complex, causing a fire last night that forced several residents from their homes, a spokesman for the county Fire Department said. One firefighter was slightly injured and was treated at an area hospital, said Director Glenn Blackwell, the spokesman. No residents were hurt. As a storm passed over the Chapel Hill Condominiums about 7 p.m., lightning struck 20 Juliet Lane, punching a large hole in the roof of the third-floor dwelling of Al Hammen, vice president of the condo association.

A 36-year-old Baltimore County firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack Saturday, a day after being released from a hospital for treatment of chest pains he experienced while exercising at his station house, fire officials said yesterday. Jarrett Dixon, a 10-year department veteran, began having chest pains Wednesday while using a treadmill at the Halethorpe station, where he was assigned as a fire apparatus driver operator, said Elise Armacost, a Fire Department spokesman. Dixon, who was also a longtime volunteer firefighter at the Liberty Road Volunteer Fire Company, was transported to St. Agnes Hospital for treatment.

Art in the Park kicks off Saturday The Carroll County Arts Council will present Art in the Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday on the grounds of Westminster City Hall. More than 80 artists will participate in the juried art show, with some providing demonstrations of their work in wood carving, pottery wheel, screen painting and cartoon illustration. A range of art styles will be available. Entertainment will include a dozen roaming musicians performing on dulcimer, banjo, flute, harp, accordion and voice.

A 36-year-old Baltimore County firefighter suffered a fatal heart attack Saturday, a day after being released from a hospital for treatment of chest pains he experienced while exercising at his station house, fire officials said yesterday. Jarrett Dixon, a 10-year department veteran, began having chest pains Wednesday while using a treadmill at the Halethorpe station, where he was assigned as a fire apparatus driver operator, said Elise Armacost, a Fire Department spokesman. Dixon, who was also a longtime volunteer firefighter at the Liberty Road Volunteer Fire Company, was transported to St. Agnes Hospital for treatment.

A retired Army major was found dead yesterday by firefighters battling a blaze that destroyed the laundry room and garage of his Abingdon home, said a spokesman for the state fire marshal's office.The body of James E. Schall Jr., 62, of the 700 block of Frans Drive was found by firefighters in the laundry room behind the garage shortly after the fire was reported by neighbors at 3: 50 p.m., said Allen Gosnell, a state fire marshal.Schall served in the Vietnam War and was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Gosnell said.

A fire hit home last night for the Lake Shore Volunteer Fire Company, causing at least $5,000 in damage to its station house, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department reported. The fire at the station in the 4400 block of Mountain Road was caused by toilet paper stacked in a storage closet coming in contact with an electric light bulb that had been left on after an afternoon bingo event held in the station's hall, said Lt. Frank Fennell, a county Fire Department spokesman. The fire was reported at 7:20 p.m. by one of four career firefighters on duty who observed smoke coming from the storage closet, Fennell said.

CENTRAL Memorial Day parade is set for tomorrow American Legion Post 31 will sponsor the 139th annual Memorial Day Parade and Observance tomorrow through Westminster. The parade will start at 10 a.m. and march down Pennsylvania Avenue to Main Street to Church Street to Westminster Cemetery. A Memorial Day program will begin at 11 a.m. at the cemetery. If the parade is canceled because of inclement weather, the program will be held at the National Guard Armory on Hahn Road. Information: 410-848-6179.