4 Displaced by Forest Hill Apartment Fire: Officials

FOREST HILL, MD — Officials said a family was displaced after a furnace malfunctioned at Harford Village North Apartments Friday morning.

The tenants in the 1600 block of Denise Drive discovered the fire in an exterior furnace room at 5:37 a.m., according to to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. They alerted authorities and notified their neighbors in the three-story apartment building. The furnace had malfunctioned, officials said.

First responders reported that flames were through the roof when as they arrived. Approximately 40 firefighters brought the blaze under control within a half hour. According to the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company, crews from Darlington, Fallston and Jarrettsville collaborated in the response.

The fire started in the exterior furnace room, where it was for the most part contained, impacting the attic area and breaching the roof of the family's apartment, officials said. No injuries were reported.

There was a total of $60,000 in damage — structural damage was $50,000, while $10,000 worth of items inside were also lost — the fire marshal estimated.

Officials said the couple, who lived in the apartment with two young children, were displaced.

PREVIOUS REPORT — Firefighters were called to an apartment fire in Forest Hill Friday morning that was traced to a furnace. Crews had arrived to find flames through the roof in the 1600 block of Denise Drive and were battling the blaze after 5:30 a.m., officials said.

Within an hour, the fire at the three-story apartment building was under control, according to Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS spokeswoman Jenn Chenworth. There were no injuries reported.

Firefighters and utilities personnel would be at the scene for an extensive cleanup operation, she said.

According to Chenworth, the blaze originated with the furnace.

Photos courtesy of the Office of the State Fire Marshal.