23 Displaced By Abingdon Apartment Blaze: Fire Marshal

ABINGDON, MD — A two-alarm fire has displaced nearly two dozen people in Abingdon Tuesday, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Investigators ruled the blaze at the garden-style apartment building accidental.

Fire in The Douglas at Constant Friendship was discovered by a neighbor at 8:59 a.m., officials said.

Smoking material had been discarded on the balcony of a third-story apartment at the complex in the 500 block of Eastview Terrace; then flames spread up the vinyl siding and into the attic, the fire marshal reported.

While the apartments had sprinklers, officials said the common attic area did not.

The fire marshal said that 40 firefighters — from Abingdon, Joppa-Magnolia, Bel Air, APG, Kingsville and Aberdeen — brought the fire under control within 30 minutes.

One civilian who sustained a minor injury was transported to Upper Chesapeake, where the individual was treated and released, according to authorities.

There was a total of $650,000 in damage, the fire marshal said: $500,000 was estimated in structural damage and $150,000 worth of items inside were lost as well.

Harford County Disaster Assistance and the Red Cross were assisting the 23 residents who were displaced, according to the fire marshal.

Photo courtesy of the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

PREVIOUS REPORT — A two-alarm fire has been brought under control in Abingdon Tuesday morning, officials say.

Multiple fire companies battled the blaze in the 500 block of Eastview Terrace, where crews arrived at 9 a.m. to find fire showing from the third floor and deck, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association.

There were no injuries, Gardiner said in a statement after 9:30 a.m.