Small Fire

Firefighters and staff evacuated 34 elderly residents from the first floor of a Southwest Baltimore nursing home last night after a small electrical fire sent smoke through the hallways.Two 80-year-old female residents of Caton Manor Nursing Center at 3330 Wilkens Ave. were taken across the street to St. Agnes Hospital, where one was treated for smoke inhalation and the other for anxiety, according to Fire Department spokesman Battalion Chief Hector L. Torres.The other evacuated residents were taken to the dining room, which wasn't affected by the smoke.

A faulty electrical outlet in a living room was blamed for starting a small fire yesterday in an Elkridge home, a Howard County fire spokesman said.There were no reported injuries from the single-alarm fire, which was reported at about 11 a.m. yesterday in a single-family home in the 6700 block of Athol Ave., said Sgt. Robert Wiseman, a spokesman for the county Fire Department.The fire was declared under control at 11:23 a.m. and extinguished at 11:35 a.m. Structural damage was estimated at $1,500, Sergeant Wiseman said.

A chemical used in making glue caught fire at W. R. Grace & Co. in Columbia yesterday, forcing fire and safety officials to evacuate the company's 500 employees for two hours and to close a portion of Route 32 to accommodate fire equipment.No one was reported injured in the small fire that started at about 11 a.m. in a drying machine in Building 16, one of six facilities at Grace's Washington Research Center off Guilford Road. The center researches and develops chemicals used to make fireproofing and packaging materials.

Arsonists set nine trash bins on fire in Kings Contrivance early yesterday, Howard County police said.Police said the fires were contained and did not spread to nearby structures.From 1:40 a.m. to 8:55 a.m., police reponded to several calls of fire, mainly in industrial parks.Most of the trash in these bins are paper, wood and cardboard products, which burn quickly, police said."It could be teen-agers doing it for kicks or someone who has a problem and gets gratification from it," said Sgt. Gary Gardner, a Police Department spokesman.

A rash of small fires, deliberately set in trash cans, is plaguing downtown Sykesville, Councilman William R. Hall Jr. said last night.He said residents should keep their eyes open for anyone who might be setting those fires. He fears the problem will get worse, he said at the Town Council meeting last night."Someone is setting town trash cans and Dumpsters on fire," he said. "As a firefighter, I know it won't stop there. It will progress to something greater."Mayor Kenneth W. Clark said town police were investigating the incidents.

About a dozen firefighters spent more than 30 minutes early yesterday extinguishing a small fire and cleaned up a chemical spill at a Glen Burnie store.Lt. Robert Kornmann, a county fire department spokesman, said sprinklers inside Aquarium Products, in the 100 block of Penrod Court, contained the blaze and kept it isolated to a small section of a concrete warehouse.As a result, there was minimal damage and no injuries, Lieutenant Kornmann said.Firefighters arrived about 4:15 a.m. and discovered an undetermined amount of the chemical Textone had spilled.

A small fire in an elevator shaft at Baltimore-Washington International Airport yesterday sent smoke pouring into the passenger terminal.State police said no one was injured, but the fire caused an American Airlines flight to be delayed because it had to be moved to another part of the airport due to the smoke. The fire, which occurred at the height of the evening passenger rush, started about 5:30 p.m. and was extinguished 20 minutes later.Trooper Gerry W. Kehs said last night that the cause of the fire was an apparent electrical short-circuit in the ground-level machinery that controls a freight elevator.

About 20 customers at Fred's New Windsor Inn were sent scurrying yesterday by a brief fire that filled the kitchen with smoke but apparently did little damage.About 60 firefighters and eight pieces of equipment from New Windsor, Westminster and Union Bridge were dispatched to the 3:10 p.m. blaze, which took about 20 minutes to bring under control, said Fire Lt. Dan Wolf.Firefighters were out for more than two hours at the restaurant and lounge at 106 Main St. But fire officials said most of that time was spent cleaning up, and that they could not clear the scene before investigators arrived and approved their departure.

Weather problems, a small fire in an abandoned building and problems with a heating unit at a Westminster department store kept firefighters busy in Carroll on Thursday night and Friday.Fire equipment from the Reese and Westminster stations became stuck on a steep driveway in the 100 block of Gorsuch Road after they responded to a fire at 12:54 p.m. Friday.A county roads department salt truck was dispatched, and firefighters carried buckets of salt to the stuck equipment.The fire turned out to be a controlled burning, officials reported.

Gas leak, fire force evacuation of townhousesAbout 12 people were evacuated in North Laurel yesterday morning after a one-inch gas line was broken between two townhouses, causing a gas leak and a small fire, said a spokesman for the county fire and rescue services.No injuries were reported.About 9:49 a.m. yesterday, a worker using a trenching machine to lay an electrical line accidentally struck the gas line, causing a leak in the 8900 block of Pembrook Woods, said Battalion Chief Donald R. Howell.