Pictures from a house fire in Laurel, Maryland. One firefighter suffers a medical emergency.
Photos by Jim Codespote, Laurel VFD. Click here for more of Jim’s pictures of the fire.
Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department press release by Mark Brady:
Firefighters from Laurel and surrounding communities waged a fierce battle against a raging fire in a single family home on Saturday, February 28, 2009. Fire/EMS units from Laurel and Beltsville as well as units from Howard, Anne Arundel and Montgomery Counties were alerted at about 7:45 PM and arrived quickly at 34 Fourth Street to find a 2-story home with heavy fire and smoke coming from the house.
Additional resources were called to the scene bringing Fire/EMS units from Branchville, Greenbelt and Bowie (Old Town) to the scene. A total of about fifty firefighters/EMT’s and paramedics operated on the scene. Firefighters, volunteer and career and from multiple jurisdictions, worked well as a team in bringing this fire under control and having the bulk of the fire knocked down within 30 minutes after their arrival. It required another hour to overhaul the interior of the house before the fire was completely extinguished.
A firefighter, an adult male, suffered a potential medical emergency and was transported to an area hospital where he has been admitted. One civilian was treated on the scene for an asthma attack, however, did not require transportation to the hospital.
The fire appears to have started in the basement of the house and extended up through the first and second floors and eventually the roof. The cause of the fire is under investigation and fire loss is estimated at $150,000. The Department’s Citizen Services Unit assisted three occupants of the house with temporary shelter.
