Officers Helped Boy Jump from Burning Home: Sheriff

When a boy was trapped inside a burning home Friday morning in Edgewood, officials said a Harford County deputy was there to catch him.

At 2:48 a.m., first responders were dispatched to a house fire with potential rescue needed in the 1800 block of Eloise Lane, according to a report from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.

• 6 Hospitalized After Edgewood Townhouse Fire

Sheriff’s deputies were the first to arrive at the scene and found three children on the front lawn with their mother, and she said another child may still be inside, according to the report.

Deputies tried to go into the house but officials said they could not due to heavy smoke and fire.

Upon hearing screams, four officers went behind the residence and saw a child cornered by thick, black smoke near an upper-level window, according to the report.

Harford County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Timothy Rumbaugh and Deputy John Deasel Jr. as well as Maryland State Trooper Francis Shanks and Trooper Micah Spessato encouraged the boy to jump, the report said.

The child did, and Deasel caught him, officials said.

• 5 Released from Hospitals After Edgewood Townhouse Fire

The four children and their mother were taken to area hospitals, and all were expected to be released by end-of-day Friday, the sheriff’s office reported.

The deputy had a minor hand injury from the rescue but did not require treatment, according to the sheriff’s office.

A firefighter who sustained an ankle injury was taken to a local hospital and released, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

More than 70 firefighters responded to the blaze, bringing the fire under control within 40 minutes, officials reported.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal, which said the fire began in the basement laundry room, is continuing to investigate the cause.

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Photo Credit: John Cooke, courtesy of Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company.