Fire Marshal S Office

During his 23 years with the New York City fire department, Ron Bucca lifted people out of elevator shafts, carried them from subway tunnels and dragged them out of rivers. People's lives depended on his clear head and steady hand in a crisis. Five years ago this Monday, Bucca arrived at the South Tower of the World Trade Center as smoke gushed out of its upper floors. He climbed the stairs up to the burning 78th-floor sky lounge, where scores were injured. As he started to fight the fire, the building collapsed.

Deputy state fire marshals have arrested a second person in connection with the intentional burning of a car in Aberdeen in November. Brenden Anthony Johnson, 20, turned himself in March 13 at the Harford County Detention Center, according to a news release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office, which said investigators had served Johnson with an arrest warrant for his involvement in the burning of the vehicle. According to Maryland electronic court records, Johnson, whose address is listed in the 4200 block of Cowan Place in Belcamp, is charged with second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning and malicious destruction of property.

A student was arrested and charged in connection with a false fire alarm at Aberdeen Middle School Tuesday afternoon, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The Aberdeen Volunteer Fire Department responded to an alarm at the school in the 100 block of Mount Royal Avenue at 1:50 p.m., according to a notice of investigation from the Fire Marshal's Office. Responding firefighters found an automatic alarm had activated, but not the school's sprinkler system. The Aberdeen Police Department also responded.

Firefighters were sent to put out a fire at an Abingdon home early Friday morning that investigators say was caused by a "misplacement of ashes from the fireplace," the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The fire at the single family home in the 900 block of Harvey Lane was reported shortly after 12:30 a.m. by a neighbor, according to a notice of investigation from the Fire Marshal's Office. The fire was brought under control in five minutes by 11 firefighters who responded from the Abingdon and Joppa-Magnolia volunteer fire companies, the Fire Marshal's Office said.

The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause of a two-alarm fire that destroyed a barn at Frock's Sunnybrook Farm in the 100 block of Bond St. in Westminster yesterday.One firefighter suffered an asthma attack while battling the blaze that brought 100 firefighters and 14 pieces of equipment from Westminster, Reese, Pleasant Valley, Manchester, Union Bridge, Hampstead and New Windsor. The firefighter was released after treatment at Carroll County General Hospital."The building was fully involved when the first engines arrived shortly after the blaze was discovered at 1:12 a.m.," said Doug Spencer, assistant fire chief for the Westminster Volunteer Fire Department.

Two boys were arrested and charged in connection with a car fire in Edgewood Friday that investigators say was deliberately set. Shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a vehicle fire in the 400 block of Edgewood Road, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The fire involved a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier which was parked at the rear of a commercial property, the Fire Marshal's Office said in a media release. Four firefighters were able to control the fire in 10 minutes.

A shed and two abandoned cars were destroyed by a fire in Street Tuesday morning, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The shed, in the 3700 block of Bay Road, was occupied by a man, Dannie Ellis, when it accidentally caught fire at about 9:05 a.m., according to the notice of investigation from the Fire Marshal's Office. "An extension cord was spliced into the Romex wire located at the base of the shed," the notice of investigation states. "This splice ignited nearby combustibles, extending and eventually consuming the shed.

A fire of suspicious origin was discovered near the gymnasium of Howard High School in Columbia today and interrupted classes for an hour, fire officials said.Firefighters responding to an alarm shortly before 8 a.m. found two foam rubber mats ablaze in a storage area underneath a porch outside the gym, said Battalion Chief Donald Howell of Howard County. The track and field mats were of the kind used for high jumps.Kathy Johnston, 42, a teacher at the school in the 8700 block of Annapolis Road, received minor hand injuries while trying to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher, Howell said.

FIRE* Sykesville: Engines from Sykesville, Winfield and West Friendship of Howard County responded to a shed fire in the 500 block of Obrecht Road at 11:29 a.m. Friday. Firefighters called for an investigator from the state fire marshal's office to determine the cause. Units were out for nearly 1 1/2 hours.* Gamber: Engines from Gamber, Reese and Sykesville were dispatched to a house fire in the 700 block of Klee Mill Road at 8:25 a.m. Friday. Units were out for 25 minutes.

The state fire marshal's office is blaming arson for a fire Monday that caused $15,000 damage to a vacant house in Mount Airy near the border of Howard and Carroll counties.Six fire departments from Howard, Carroll and Montgomery counties responded to the 9:40 a.m. fire in the 700 block of West Watersville Road reported by a neighbor, fire officials said.No one was injured in the blaze, which was extinguished in 15 minutes. The two-story, wood-frame house in Western Howard County had been vacant for about two years, fire officials said.

Two boys were arrested and charged in connection with a car fire in Edgewood Friday that investigators say was deliberately set. Shortly before 4 p.m. Friday, the Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company was alerted for a vehicle fire in the 400 block of Edgewood Road, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. The fire involved a 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier which was parked at the rear of a commercial property, the Fire Marshal's Office said in a media release. Four firefighters were able to control the fire in 10 minutes.

A student was arrested and charged in connection with a false fire alarm at Aberdeen Middle School Tuesday afternoon, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The Aberdeen Volunteer Fire Department responded to an alarm at the school in the 100 block of Mount Royal Avenue at 1:50 p.m., according to a notice of investigation from the Fire Marshal's Office. Responding firefighters found an automatic alarm had activated, but not the school's sprinkler system. The Aberdeen Police Department also responded.

A shed and two abandoned cars were destroyed by a fire in Street Tuesday morning, the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office said. The shed, in the 3700 block of Bay Road, was occupied by a man, Dannie Ellis, when it accidentally caught fire at about 9:05 a.m., according to the notice of investigation from the Fire Marshal's Office. "An extension cord was spliced into the Romex wire located at the base of the shed," the notice of investigation states. "This splice ignited nearby combustibles, extending and eventually consuming the shed.

Deputy state fire marshals identified the victim of Thursday's fatal fire near Havre de Grace as George M. Scott, 86, who lived in the home in the Webster Village neighborhood where the fire occurred. An autopsy by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner was completed Friday and determined the cause of Mr. Scott's death was smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, according to a news release from the Fire Marshal's Office. Mr. Scott was the sole occupant of the home at the time of the fire, according to the release.

A Pylesville man died of smoke inhalation after a small electrical fire in his bedroom Thursday afternoon, state fire marshals said Sheldon "Sam" Deller, 52, was killed when a fire broke out in the first floor bedroom of his home in the 5000 block of West Heaps Road in Pylesville. The 12:41 p.m. fire caused $200 damage to the two-story, wood frame dwelling, according to a news release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office. Monitored Harford County emergency radio broadcasts reported a fire with rescue; however, the first arriving unit reported "nothing evident" showing outside of the dwelling.

White Marsh woman dies in townhouse fire A single-alarm fire that claimed the life of a White Marsh woman late Saturday night remains under investigation, said a spokeswoman for the Baltimore County Fire Department. The woman's name was being withheld pending notification of family members, said Elise Armacost, the spokeswoman. However, Christine Gallagher, who lives next door to the victim, identified her as Kathy Hall, about 62, and a part-time teacher at a county middle school. Gallagher said Hall lived alone and described her as a "pleasant and quiet person."

A fire believed to have been caused by a ruptured car gasoline tank destroyed a North Laurel auto repair shop yesterday afternoon, injuring two workers and damaging an adjacent business, Howard County fire officials said.Two employees who had been working on the car were driven by ambulance to Laurel Regional Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. One had been burned, said Lt. David Carroll, spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue.Their identities were not available yesterday, and fire officials did not know their conditions.

Fire marshall investigating two-alarm fire in JessupThe state fire marshal's office is investigating a two-alarm fire that gutted a single family home in Jessup Wednesday, displacing four residents, a fire department spokesman said.Geneva Joyner, 47, and three elderly residents of the home in the 8700 block of Mary Lane were not injured.

Group to hold 5-kilometer, 1-mile fundraising runs PRINCESS ANNE - Therapeutic Alternatives of Maryland will hold a 5-kilometer run and hike and a 1-mile fun run at 10:30 a.m. Saturday through Cromwell Valley Park. The fundraiser is taking place in partnership with the Baltimore County Department of Recreation and Parks and the Baltimore Road Runners Club, organizers said. The run and hike will be cross country-style, and the walk will be wheelchair-accessible. T-shirts and prizes will be offered.

Fighting fires was a thrill for J. Robert Ray, but he has spent a lot of time sitting behind a desk. In three decades with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department, Ray has spent as much time planning, organizing and leading as fighting fires. He has supervised everything from the training academy to the emergency call center to the fire marshal's office. And last week Ray guaranteed himself even more time behind a desk, when he was sworn in as the county's ninth fire chief. "When I started, I really liked the excitement of fighting fires, but after 30 years your interests sort of evolve," said Ray, 52. For the past 10 years, Ray has served as one of the department's three deputy chiefs.