Blaze Hospitalizes Woman, Causes $300K In Damage: Report

HANOVER, MD — Officials said a Hanover house fire hospitalized a woman Monday morning. The blaze also caused $300,00 in damage to the home, an incident report added.

Investigators believe the accidental fire started after somebody improperly placed fireplace ashes in a cardboard box. The write-up noted that the fire started around 8:26 a.m. in the 1500 block of Beaver Dam Court. The smoke alarms sounded after the residents spotted the fire, officials advised.

Upon arrival, first responders reported flames coming from the garage, the attic, a vehicle in the driveway and a neighbor's siding. A press release indicated that the flames eventually extended the length of the attic and charred much of the two-story, single-family home.

A team of 42 firefighters controlled the blaze in about an hour, the report informed. The release specified that crews from these stations assisted the Anne Arundel County Fire Department's response:

• Fort Meade Fire and Emergency Services
• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Fire & Rescue Department

Medics took a 54-year-old female occupant of the house to the Burn Center at Baltimore's Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, the report specified. Officials expect her to survive.

They explained that the fire displaced all three residents. The Red Cross will help them with housing, the write-up clarified.

The fire department reminded locals to assume all ashes are hot, even if they have cooled for a while. The National Fire Protection Association offered these tips to safely dispose of ashes:

• "If possible, allow ashes and coals to cool in the area where you had the fire for several days. These devices are designed to contain their heat safely.
• When it is time to dispose of the ashes, transfer them to a metal container and wet them down.
• Keep the metal container outside your home and away from any combustibles until the refuse is hauled away.
• DO NOT place any other combustibles in the metal container.
• DO NOT use a combustible container."

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