Garage Fire

PoliceWestminster: A resident of Union Street told police Friday that property was stolen from his vehicle while it was parked on Union Street. Loss was estimated at $350.Westminster: A resident of John Street told police Thursday that property was stolen from her home between June and October. Loss was estimated at $1,850.Westminster: A resident of Logan Drive told police Monday that someone took her cell phone while she was at Cranberry Mall. Loss was estimated at $250.FiresWestminster: Firefighters from Westminster and Reese responded at 10: 01 p.m. Monday to a garage fire in the first block of Union St. Units were out one hour, 35 minutes.

Hampstead police were searching yesterday for a man who attempted to rob a grocery store at gunpoint Sunday evening.Police said the man hid in the stockroom of Weis Market in the Roberts Field shopping center and emerged shortly after closing.He ordered four workers to go to the front of the store, where he was startled to see about 15 other workers in a meeting. The man fled out the back door without any money.The suspect was described as in his mid 20s, about 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds. He has reddish blond hair.

Three cases of arson -- two which went to two-alarms -- in Hampden yesterday and last night may have been set by the same person, a city fire department spokesman said today."

Here is a compilation of the fire and rescue calls to the dTC Emergency Operations Center.*Aug. 21: 10:07 p.m., Winfield was out for 22 minutes on a call that an alarm was sounding on Brass Eagle Court.*Aug. 22: 11:28 a.m., Winfield, Gamber and Westminster were out of service for 37 minutes while they extinguished a garage fire on Henry James Drive.4:04 p.m., Sykesville, Gamber, Winfield and Lisbon responded to what was thought to be a kitchen fire on Third Avenue. A flash from a newly installed gas stove caused the sprinkler system to activate, and the engines were called in for cleanup.

100 Years Ago A nickel a night Times ads: "Interesting, Moving Pictures, change each night, In the Banquet Hall of the HOWARD HOUSE Ellicott City, Commencing Saturday night, Nov. 30th Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday nights. Admission 5 cents. Wm. F. Kerger, Proprietor. " "For Rent: One new modern house and lot, with garden and storeroom for particulars. Address to C.H. Iglehart, Dayton, Md. or F.B. Cissel, Ellicott City, Md. " 75 Years Ago Fired up "Firemen fight Chimney, Field And Woods Fires," was the headline of a story in the news.

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.

State fire officials are investigating the cause of a two-alarm Elkridge fire that destroyed a two-car garage containing vintage cars Friday.The early morning fire at the 6300 block of Woodburn Avenue seriously damaged two cars in the garage, a 1955 Chevrolet and a 1932 Chevrolet, worth at least $20,000 each, according to Battalion Chief Donald Howell of the county fire and rescue services.The fire, which started in the garage, also destroyed more than 100 model cars, tools and and welding equipment, causing at least $125,000 in damages.

A man using a garage near Green Mount Cemetery for shelter died last night when a fire, apparently caused by a kerosene heater, set debris inside the structure ablaze, said a Fire Department official.Lt. Thomas Nosek of Engine Co. 19 in the 1300 block of Guilford Ave. said his unit was returning from a call in the 2700 block of N. Calvert St. about 9: 40 p.m. when the crew noticed smoke and flames coming from a garage in the rear of the 400 block of E. Lafayette Ave.Nosek said that after firefighters forced their way inside the locked garage and put out the flames, they found the severely burned body of a man in a chair.

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 garage attached to an Ellicott City home caught fire yesterday afternoon, causing about $35,000 in property damage, a fire official said. Howard County firefighters responded to the blaze at the two-story house in the 10000 block of Fox Den Road about 4 p.m. and were able to control the fire quickly, said Battalion Chief Richard Blankenship. The dwelling area sustained smoke and water damage, and siding was burned, he said. No one was home at the time, and no firefighters were injured, he said.