Fire Officials

IN BALTIMORE COUNTY Lightning may be cause of two-alarm house fire HUNT VALLEY - A two-alarm fire did extensive damage to the second floor of a home in the 14200 block of Greencroft Lane yesterday afternoon, Baltimore County fire officials said. Fire officials said they believe that lightning from a storm that rolled across the county may have struck the home's chimney. No one was home at the time, officials said.

Fire officials trace Dorsey Hall blaze to improper disposal of ashesA fire that caused $135,000 damage to a home and two cars in Dorsey Hall on Sunday was probably accidental and started by improper disposal of fireplace ashes, fire officials said.No one was injured in the fire, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m. in the 9400 block of Sunlit Passage, fire officials said.The fire apparently started in a garage, burning a 1991 Honda and a 1990 BMW, and then spread to second-floor bedrooms in the house, fire officials said.

A family of five fled into freezing temperatures when smoldering ashes left in a garage ignited a fire at their Scaggsville home early yesterday, fire officials said.No one was injured in the 12:20 a.m. fire in the 10300 block of Derby Drive, but two cars and other property inside the garage and home were destroyed.The fire caused $200,000 in damage, fire officials said.Cold weather and ice hampered firefighters' efforts to fight the blaze, said Lt. Ken Byerly, a Howard County fire spokesman.

Investigators continued the search for the cause of a four-alarm blaze at a Reisterstown senior citizens apartment complex Monday that injured four people and displaced 70, Baltimore County fire officials said yesterday. Seven families were moved to hotels, said Laura Dennis, communications manager for the Central Maryland Chapter of the American Red Cross, adding that it is unknown how long they will have to remain there. About 8 a.m. Monday, firefighters responded to the blaze at the Meadows at Reisterstown in the 300 block of Cantata Court.

Two people were treated for smoke inhalation after a fire in Lothian early Wednesday morning, Anne Arundel Fire officials said. Firefighters were called to the 200 block of 5 t h Street, at Wayson's Trailer Court, at 2:15 a.m., said Captain James Rostek of Anne Arundel County Fire. A 51-year-old woman and a 40-year-old man were taken to Calvert Memorial Hospital for treatment. No one else was injured, according to fire officials. Damage to the trailer was estimated at $30,000 and damage to its contents was estimated at $20,000.

Two Carroll County boys were arrested Sunday and charged with second-degree arson, accused of setting a fire that spread from a portable toilet to a nearby building, causing about $30,000 worth of damage, according to state fire officials. A 12-year-old boy and a 14- year-old boy were taken into custody and later released to their parents after Hampstead police and fire officials identified them as the suspected arsonists. Hampstead firefighters responded to the fire at the Hampstead Lions Club Community Room on Hillcrest Avenue about 1:30 a.m. Fire officials said the fire spread quickly to an adjacent brick utility building used by the Lions Club.

Five-year-old twin boys who were playing with matches ignited a blaze that destroyed their Riviera Beach home yesterday morning, Anne Arundel County fire officials said. Shortly after 8 a.m., the twins informed their mother, Dawn Kiser, that they had accidentally started a fire in a bedroom of the two-story townhouse in the 8500 block of Beacon Point Road. All of the house's occupants - Kiser, the twins, another of her children and two nieces - escaped without serious injury. However, Kiser's nieces, ages 3 and 6, were transported to North Arundel Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, fire officials said.

A blaze early yesterday in Parkville was started by a discarded cigarette on an outside patio, Baltimore County fire officials said. Fire officials responded to the 2900 block of Aspen Hill Road about 6:30 a.m. for a report of a dwelling fire, and soon after called for a second alarm, authorities said. The fire was under control by 7:30 a.m. The home had working smoke detectors, and occupants of the home had evacuated before firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported, but two homes had internal damage and two other homes were damaged on the outside as a result of the fire.

Baltimore County firefighters recovered a man's body from inside a North Point home during a small house fire Friday afternoon, according to fire officials. A department spokeswoman said firefighters were called to the 7600 block of Old Battle Grove Road at about 2:35 p.m. and found a dead man in the living room of the home. The fire was confined to the living room area and generated significant heat, fire officials said. The cause of death is not clear. The fire was extinguished a short time after, according to fire officials.

About 50 Harford County fire fighters battled an early morning, two-alarm blaze Thursday in Havre de Grace, according to Harford County fire officials. At appproximately 4:37 a.m., fire crews were called to the 4000 block of U Way for a reported fire with rescue, fire officials said. The first arriving units encountered fire coming through the roof. A second alarm was requested and approximately 50 fire fighters from Level, Aberdeen Susquehanna Hose and Cecil County were called to put out the fire.