HUGHESVILLE — Four people are out of their Hughesville home and two were treated at the hospital after an accidental electrical fire broke out in the basement Wednesday morning, Oct. 21, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.
The two occupants were taken to CalvertHealth Medical Center in Prince Frederick for minor burns and smoke inhalation, the fire marshal’s notice of investigation said. One firefighter was treated at the scene for an ankle injury. The four displaced residents are staying with family.
Investigators ruled the fire accidental, caused by an electrical event in the basement of the two-story single-family home in the 16000 block of Rivers Reach Lane. The fire marshal estimated the damage at $350,000:
- $250,000 to the structure
- $100,000 to its contents
Alarms sounded, fire held to the basement
An occupant discovered the fire, and the home’s smoke alarms were present and went off, according to the fire marshal. The house had no fire alarm or sprinkler system.
Charles County volunteer fire and EMS departments were dispatched at about 11:30 a.m., according to the Charles County Volunteer Fire and EMS. A Hughesville unit and Calvert County Engine 22 arrived shortly after dispatch and confirmed an active fire in the basement.
About 45 firefighters on a single alarm brought the fire under control in 20 minutes, the fire marshal said. Crews kept the flames in the basement and stopped them from spreading to the upper floors, though smoke filled the house.
The county’s volunteer organization initially reported that a Calvert County firefighter was taken from the scene for medical evaluation after leaving the house. The fire marshal’s notice, issued later, lists one firefighter injury, treated at the scene.
Departments from two counties
The Hughesville Volunteer Fire Department was the primary company. Volunteers from Dentsville, La Plata and Waldorf also responded, along with mutual aid companies from neighboring areas. Waldorf’s Chief 3A took command and coordinated crews as they arrived.
The Waldorf Volunteer Fire Department said its Company 3 was dispatched at about 11:34 a.m. and sent Engine 31, Tower 3 and two chief officers, a total of 13 people. Waldorf crews were on scene for about two hours.
Other departments covered the empty stations while those crews were in Hughesville, a routine practice known as backfilling that keeps response times down elsewhere during a large call.
Why the alarms mattered
Fire officials point to working smoke alarms as the main reason people get out of house fires alive, and the fire marshal’s office has spent this month pushing residents to check theirs. Last weekend it held free smoke alarm checks statewide. Maryland law requires battery-only smoke alarms to be replaced with sealed, 10-year long-life battery units.
It is not the first time this fall that an alarm made the difference in Charles County. In September, a smoke alarm was credited with saving a Bryantown resident and the resident’s cats. Earlier this month, 27 commercial vehicles were destroyed in a Waldorf fire.
