Fire In Forest Hill Started By 8-Year-Old: Officials

FOREST HILL, MD — A smoke alarm helped save 13 people from a house fire in Forest Hill, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Officials said that an 8-year-old boy was playing with matches in the dining room of a home in the 1200 block of Sharon Acres Road around 10 a.m. on Sunday when everyone else in the house was asleep.

Eight adults and two children lived in the home, according to officials.

The 8-year-old boy, his 5-year-old sibling and their mother — who was the girlfriend of one of the residents — were staying over.

When the fire broke out, all except the 5-year-old and 8-year-old were asleep in their bedrooms, the fire marshal reported.

The homeowner awoke to the sound of the smoke alarm, discovered the blaze in the dining room and alerted everyone else in the house to get out, officials said. He reportedly tried to extinguish the fire with water but the flames were rapidly spreading so he left and closed the door behind him, containing the situation.

Firefighters from Jarrettsville, Fallston, Bel Air, Norrisville and Whiteford responded and brought the blaze under control in 10 minutes, the fire marshal reported. They also treated the homeowner for minor smoke inhalation at the scene.

According to authorities, there was $25,000 in structural damage; and $25,000 of items inside the home were also lost.

There was extensive smoke, heat and soot damage to the dining room and adjacent kitchen, while the remainder of the home had minor smoke and soot damage, officials said. A bedroom nearby had no damage because of a door blocking the fire's spread.

Investigators at the scene reported that the 8-year-old admitted he was playing with matches. The fire marshal said the blaze was neither intentional nor malicious and noted the vital role that smoke alarms played.

"Deputy State Fire Marshals believe, without a doubt, Harford County avoided multiple-fire fatalities due to working smoke alarms," the Office of the State Fire Marshal said in a statement. "This is the third time in as many days, working smoke alarms are credited with waking sleeping occupants to a fire inside their home in Harford/Cecil Counties."

Harford County Disaster Assistance is assisting the residents.

Photos by the Jarrettsville Volunteer Fire Company and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.