In District Heights, Maryland yesterday (Wednesday), within one hour, there were two house fires, two blocks apart, on Ramblewood Drive. Investigators say the cause of the first fire was electrical and food on the stove for the second fire. The video above by Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady was taken during the second fire.
Information by Brady from the PGFD news blog (also more pictures from Mark):
An unusual sequence of events this afternoon in District Heights. Two house fires occurred within an hour of each other on the same street separated only by eight neighboring houses and with different causes. Each fire damaged the home and displaced the occupants. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in either incident.
The first incident occurred at around 4:00 pm in the 2300 block of Ramblewood Drive. Firefighters arrived at the 2-story, Cape Cod style, single-family home with fire and smoke showing. Firefighters confirmed all the occupants were out of the house and initiated an interior attack on the fire. The fire was located in a bedroom on the first floor in the rear of the house. The fire was quickly extinguished and declared out within 10 minutes of arrival. The cause of this fire has been determined to be a malfunctioning extension cord and is accidental. Estimated fire loss is $50,000. Four adults, 2 children and the family dog are displaced and assisted by the County Citizen Services Unit and American Red Cross with temporary shelter.
As firefighters were cleaning up from that fire a young teen-aged male came running up the street and told the first firefighter he could find that his house was on fire. Firefighters quickly scrambled to negotiate apparatus and themselves to prepare for another fire. At around 5:00 pm, just down the street from the first fire, in the 2100 block of Ramblewood Drive, heavy smoke was pouring out of the homes front door and upper floor. Again, firefighters ensured all occupants were out of the house, advanced hose lines into the home and extinguished the fire. One adult and three children are displaced from this house. The County Citizen Services Unit and the Red Cross are assisting this family as well. Fire loss is estimated at $35,000 and was caused by unattended cooking.
Overall, two jobs well done by firefighters for minimizing damage and done so without injury. A quick transition from one incident to another with little to no time to organize who was first or last arriving.
