Boy Critical After Bel Air Townhouse Blaze, Fire Marshal Says

BEL AIR, MD - A 10-year-old boy is in critical condition Thursday morning after a townhouse fire in Bel Air. His mother and and sibling were also hospitalized as a result of the Wednesday night blaze, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

At 10:47 p.m., officials said someone in the townhouse in the 900 block of Pentwood Drive discovered the fire.

Neighbors and members of the Harford County Sheriff's Office helped the woman who lived there with her children to safety, the fire marshal reported.

The children had escaped on their own, and a neighbor helped one adult get out of the house before the fire department arrived, according to Rich Gardiner of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company.

Bel Air emergency medical personnel took the woman along with her 10 and 15-year-old to Johns Hopkins Children's Center for treatment of smoke inhalation and burns, according to the fire marshal.

The 10-year-old boy was in critical but stable condition Thursday morning, officials reported.

• 3 Hospitalized From Bel Air Townhouse Fire: Official

Approximately 40 firefighters responded to the one-alarm blaze and had it under control within 40 minutes.

Bel Air, Abingdon, Fallston, Aberdeen, Level and Joppa-Magnolia reportedly assisted.

Damage to the middle-of-the-group townhouse was estimated to be $200,000. There was $150,000 in structural damage, while $50,000 worth of items inside the home were also destroyed.

The fire at the middle-of-the-group townhouse began in the basement, officials said, while the cause remained under investigation as of Thursday morning.

K-9 "Kachina" assisted the fire marshal in the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the fire marshal's Northeast Regional Office at 410-836-4844.

Photos courtesy of John Gallagher, Brian Winchester and Mark Ensor of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company.