Fire Marshal

The state fire marshal's office is investigating a fire that destroyed a house in Sykesville yesterday.Fire marshal spokesman Lt. Kenneth A. Byerly said the blaze caused $225,000 damage to the single-family house in the 13300 block of Forsythe Road.Pub Date: 11/18/97

The Maryland State Fire Marshal's office in Bel Air is investigating an incident in which fireworks were placed in the fuel tank of a vehicle in Abingdon, authorities said. The owner discovered the fireworks shortly before 8 a.m. yesterday and called authorities. A spokeswoman for the fire marshal's Harford County office said the fireworks did not explode and caused no damage to the 2003 Ford Taurus in the 2900 block of Trellis Lane. No one was injured. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the fire marshal at 410-836- 4844.

A fire that damaged a Columbia house Monday night was deliberately set, the state fire marshal's office said yesterday. A neighbor reported a fire in the 5000 block of Flowertuft Court in Wilde Lake village at 7:46 p.m. Monday, the fire marshal's office said in a written statement. The blaze caused about $50,000 in damage to the single-family home, the statement said. No one was home at the time of the fire, and no one was injured, according to the statement. Deputies from the fire marshal's office determined that the fire had been deliberately set inside the home, the statement said.

A smoldering pile of newspapers caused about $1,500 in damage to Swansfield Elementary School on Cedar Lane in Columbia early yesterday, the state fire marshal's office said. The fire appears to have been set intentionally, Deputy State Fire Marshal Sarina Hart said. A Sun newspaper deliverer discovered the fire outside the school about 3 a.m., the fire marshal's office said. The flames broke a window and melted paint on the window frame, Hart said, but damage was minimal because the fire was outside the building.

The Maryland fire marshal's bomb squad detonated a cannonball in Bel Air on Wednesday that may date from the War of 1812.The detonation occurred after Gertrude Depkin, chairwoman of the artifacts committee for the Historical Society of Harford County, learned of a warning from the state fire marshal concerning the potential dangers of old cannonballs.Mrs. Depkin said she knew the society had an old, rusty, flaking cannonball, about the size of a 10-pin bowling ball, at its headquarters in the old Bel Air post office on Main Street.

$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.

The state fire marshal is investigating a blaze that destroyed a masonry contractor's detached garage in Union Bridge early yesterday. Postal workers reported smoke in the first block of Whyte St. about 5 a.m. The 40-foot-by-15-foot garage and its contents were destroyed, and authorities estimated damage at $50,000. Deputy Fire Marshal Sarina Hart said Dean R. Pennington owns the garage for a contracting business. The building was by itself on property used for the business. Investigators determined that the fire was set deliberately and started inside the garage.

Fire destroys townhouse, displacing Edgewood family EDGEWOOD - A fire ripped through an Edgewood townhouse early yesterday, leaving a family homeless. The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of the 1 a.m. blaze, which apparently began in the basement of the three-story frame home in the 1000 block of Lake Front Drive. Five residents escaped the fire, which was brought under control within an hour by 80 firefighters from seven departments. Five residents and three firefighters were treated at area hospitals, the fire marshal said.

A pipe bomb detonated prematurely in Union Bridge yesterday, injuring one of three boys who had made it, according to the state fire marshal's office.The 12-year-old, who lost at least two fingers, was taken to Union Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery, Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Bob Thomas told the Associated Press.The boy's name was not released and the other two youngsters were not injured.Fire Marhal Thomas said the accident occurred about 5 p.m. in the garage of a home in the 4300 block of Bark Hill Road.

A St. Mary's County man has been charged in connection with illegal fireworks that police seized June 28 from a barge anchored in the Patuxent River off the Calvert County community of Patuxent View, the state fire marshal's office said yesterday. Jack R. Beckwith, 58, of the 28000 block of Three Notch Road, Mechanicsville, was charged Friday with possession of fireworks without a permit and possession of fireworks with intent to discharge. Both charges are misdemeanors and are punishable by fines of up to $250.