Fire Marshal

Two juveniles have been arrested in a series of arson fires in Taneytown in late July and early August, authorities said yesterday. The state fire marshal's office and the Taneytown Police Department have been investigating the fires and have arrested three people, said Faron Taylor, deputy state fire marshal. Yesterday, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old, both of Taneytown, were arrested and charged with malicious burning in the fires. Taylor said the youths were released to the custody of their parents and the case turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The "I love you" and "Rest in peace" notes scribbled on the wooden boards barricading the hollow windows of 1903 Cecil Ave. have begun to fade. But everything about the May blaze in an East Baltimore rowhouse that killed eight of her neighbors - five of them children - remains vivid for Anita Paige. After 14 years on this block, Paige says she is living more carefully: making sure not to leave the kitchen while a pot of soup's bubbling on the stove, clearing clothes away from her water heater and checking to see that her smoke detector works.

Three male strippers drop lawsuit against MdTA police Three male strippers have dropped their lawsuit alleging that Maryland Transportation Authority police officers forced them to pose nude for photographs after a traffic stop. Edward Cloyd of Washington, David A. Lawrence Jr. of Severn, and Derrick Williams of College Park dropped their lawsuit last month, MdTA police officials said yesterday. After a March 2006 performance in Philadelphia, the three exotic dancers were being driven to the Washington area when the driver was pulled over for speeding just south of the Harbor Tunnel on Interstate 895. Police confiscated $9,645 from the three men and charged them with marijuana possession.

When firefighters discovered the source of the smoke minutes after entering the Carroll County apartment, they found foam pillows and clothing burning in a bedroom. The flames might have taken 15 seconds to extinguish, the smoke, 15 minutes to clear. But within hours, fire officials had zeroed in on what had caused the blaze while the apartment's residents were away: a 9-year-old boy. The Mount Airy child is not the youngest caught intentionally setting a fire, fire officials and psychologists say, nor are juvenile fire-setters rare.

A two-alarm fire yesterday at an abandoned hospital in Carroll County is the latest in a series of arsons at the state-owned complex, officials said as they called for the buildings there to be repaired or razed. The fire yesterday was the largest in recent memory at the 53-acre Henryton Hospital, overlooking the Patapsco River near Sykesville, said Bill Rehkopf, spokesman for the Sykesville-Freedom District Fire Department. The cause is being investigated, but the state fire marshal's office preliminarily ruled that the fire had been set. About two years ago, a garage on the property burned down, one of perhaps a half-dozen fires there in the past three or four years, Rehkopf said.

At least two people were displaced and two firefighters were injured early yesterday in a six-alarm blaze that destroyed a Goodwill retail outlet and two second-floor apartments on Westminster's Main Street, authorities said.About a dozen investigators from the state fire marshal's office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were working to determine the cause of the fire, which broke out shortly after 2 a.m. in the rear of the building at 77 W. Main St.Damage to the structure, which city officials said dated to the Civil War, was estimated at $200,000.

CARBON monoxide deaths are considered freakish because they don't occur as often as such misfortunes as fatal fires or car crashes. Nonetheless, hundreds of people die each year when the colorless, odorless gas, emitted by autos or faulty heating systems, prevents their blood from carrying oxygen.A sad reminder of the hazard came Monday when 20-year-old Bryn E. Parry, of Alexandria, Va., died while asleep in the home of a friend in Annapolis' Eastport section. The friend's mother accidentally left her automobile running in the attached garage, beside the room where Ms. Parry slept.

A 17-year-old restaurant cook whose "careless" smoking was cited yesterday as the cause of last week's devastating fire in historic Ellicott City says the blaze was an "act of God.""If it was a cigarette, it was an act of God. It was just meant to be," said Matthew Riesner, who worked as a cook at Main Street Blues, where the fire started Nov. 9. "It could have happened to anyone."The fire destroyed five businesses and four apartments on Main Street, causing $2 million in damage. State fire investigators said it was accidentally caused when the youth went on a "smoke break" behind the restaurant.

EASTON -- If Kimberly Michelle Hricko didn't kill her husband and set fire to the resort hotel room the couple had booked for a romantic Valentine's weekend last year, then how did the blaze start?Stephen Hricko's body was found after he and his wife of nine years attended a dinner theater murder-mystery play at the resort.Testimony was halted last night and jurors sent home on the second day of what is expected to be a weeklong trial. Lawyers argued about whether an investigator for the state fire marshal could testify that, in his opinion, the fire was deliberately set.Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Mulligan said nearly a year of investigation and testing of bedding, cigars and other material found in the room where the body of 35-year-old Stephen Hricko was found left the investigator with no other conclusion.

A 15-year-old boy was charged yesterday with setting off fireworks last week in the North Carroll High School gym, according to the state fire marshal's office.The incident occurred about 2: 30 p.m. Friday, when Principal Gary Dunkleberger reportedly discovered the student discharging small fireworks in the gym, officials said.Deputy fire marshals interviewed the boy at the school in Hampstead yesterday, according to the incident report. No injuries or damage were reported.The boy, who was not identified because of his age, was suspended from school and released to his parents, a spokesman for the state fire marshal said.

Body of missing man found floating in Dundalk cove The body of a man reported missing early Thursday was found hours later near a boat moored at a marina on Lynch Cove in Dundalk, Baltimore County police said. The man's name was not released. About 3 p.m., police received a 911 call that a man's body was floating in the water at Sheltered Harbor Marina off the 8000 block of Stansbury Road. The body was removed by county firefighters and taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

Cecil man dies in house fire CHARLESTOWN: A Cecil County man was killed early Saturday in a house fire, according to the state fire marshal's office. About 45 firefighters responded to a call just after 2 a.m. in the first block of Edgewater Drive in Charlestown. Authorities said the 71-year-old man was the sole occupant at the time of the fire. It took firefighters an hour to control the fire, which caused $90,000 in damage, according to the state fire marshal. Hanah Cho Restaurants close in Power Plant complex 2 City health inspectors closed Mex restaurant in Power Plant Live on Friday night because of a mouse infestation, officials said Saturday.

Driver leads police on chase through Annapolis A driver led police on a chase through Annapolis early yesterday and attempted to hit an officer with his car, ran a motorist off the road and struck a police car twice, Annapolis police said. About 12:40 a.m., an officer signaled for a man driving a 1999 Ford Crown Victoria on West Street in downtown Annapolis to pull over because he was speeding, police said. As the officer walked to the car, the man drove off. Officers followed the Ford in police cars and the driver stopped again in the parking lot of a senior center on Smithville Street.

Information sought in White Hall fire The state fire marshal's office is asking for the public's help as it investigates a suspected arson that destroyed a farmhouse in White Hall in northern Baltimore County over the weekend. A neighbor on the way to work saw the fire in the 2900 block of Church Lane at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, said Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph G. Zurolo Jr. By the time firefighters arrived, the 100-year-old farmhouse had collapsed. Damage was estimated at $200,000. Zurolo said the house and outbuildings, though vacant for the past two years, were being maintained by the owner.

Woman pleads guilty to wire fraud The U.S. Attorney's office says a Highland woman has pleaded guilty to stealing real estate settlement funds intended to pay off homeowners' previous loans. Marny Arlen Bailey, 35, pleaded guilty yesterday to wire fraud. She will be sentenced Dec. 8, when she faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. According to court documents, Bailey was head of Executive Settlements, which handled residential real estate closings. Prosecutors say in late 2007 or early 2008, Bailey started taking money intended to pay off lenders closing and used it herself.

Three arsons investigated in Harford Officials from the state fire marshal's office are asking for help in their investigation of three arsons that were set early Sunday in Harford County, authorities said yesterday. The first two fires occurred off Route 7 near Edgewood at 5:30 a.m. A passer-by discovered a car on fire in the 1900 block of Steven Drive. The fire destroyed a 1998 Honda Civic EX and melted the vinyl siding of the owner's house, as well as the siding of the house next door, said Deputy State Fire Marshal Jamie D. Rodeheaver.

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.

Investigators from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office arrested four youths and later released them to their parents after a series of soda-bottle bombs were set off along the roadway at the entrance of the Woodbridge Station Way in Edgewood late Thursday night, authorities said yesterday. The youths, three 15-year-olds and a 12-year-old, have been referred to the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services for further action, authorities said. All of them are from the Edgewood/Joppa area.

The state fire marshal's office is investigating an arson early yesterday at an abandoned business in Joppa where Harford County plans to build a new sheriff's precinct station, authorities said. A passer-by saw the fire in the 600 block of Pulaski Highway shortly after 2 a.m., said Joseph G. Zurolo Jr., deputy state fire marshal. It took six fire companies about 45 minutes to bring the fire under control. Damage was estimated at $10,000. The two-bay block garage was formerly Edgewood Cars for Less, and it had been vacant and open to trespassers for some years, Zurolo said.

Aberdeen police honored by Guard Chief Randy M. Rudy of the Aberdeen Police Department recently was presented with an award for employer support of the National Guard and Reserve from the Maryland National Guard. The Police Department has had three officers deployed to active duty since the country went to war against Iraq. Sgt. James McGarvey and Officer First Class Timothy Helf have each been deployed twice to the Middle East. Officer First Class Christopher Bradley has done security details in the United States.