| At 3:48pm, while members were preparing for the final night of Carnival Week, Carroll County Emergency Communications dispatched Box Alarm 10-16 for the reported house fire in the 100 Block of Springdale Avenue. The initial dispatch included units from New Windsor, Union Bridge, Westminster and Pleasant Valley Fire Departments. Immediately following dispatch Chief 10-1 (M. Moser) called responding and requested the Rapid Intervention Dispatch to be added based on the large column of smoke in the sky. Engine 101 arrived at 3:51pm and found a single story, single family home with heavy fire showing from both the rear of the house and the attached garage. Chief 10 (T. Coe) established the Springdale Avenue Command and was able to quickly verify that all occupants were out of the home. As lines were stretched several large explosions occurred in the garage intensifying the fire. The explosions were later determined to be home oxygen and propane cylinders which had failed due to the fire. The crew from Engine 101 worked to expeditiously put multiple lines in service to knock the fire in the garage while at the same time cutting off the fire from gaining progress inside of the home. Engine 102 and Engine 81 joined the firefight inside the home assisting with opening up and extinguishment. The fire was placed under control at 4:06, just 14 minutes after the arrival of the fire department. Additional units arrived and assisted with overhaul and salvage operations. In addition to the structural damage, three cars were damaged by the fire. The fire remains under investigation by the State Fire Marshal's Office and the Red Cross is assisting the 7 occupants who were displaced by the fire. There were no firefighter injuries however one civilian was transported to the hospital from the incident scene. Units operated on the scene for just over 3 hours. Frederick County Engine 111 (Walkersville) covered the New Windsor Station for the duration of the incident. The New Windsor Fire Department would like to thank the members of our community who reacted to social media requests to come and assist at our Carnival while the firefighters completed operations at the house fire.
New Windsor Units: Engine 101, Engine 102, Brush 105, Paramedic 109, Utility 10, Utility 10-1
Other Units: Union Bridge- Engine 81, Rescue Squad 8, Utility 8-1; Westminster- Engine 33, Tower 3, Paramedic 38, Duty 3; Pleasant Valley- Engine 61; Winfield- Engine 142; OSFM- FM44 |
