Cat Rescued From Bel Air Apartment Blaze: Officials

BEL AIR, MD — Firefighters made quick work of an apartment blaze at a Bel Air complex Monday afternoon where officials said a cat was rescued and nobody else was home. The cause was under investigation.

At 1:49 p.m., a neighbor alerted authorities to the blaze in the 700 block of Country Village Drive. Crews from Bel Air and surrounding fire companies responded to the Country Village Apartments for a reported apartment fire.

An electrical failure in the living room caused the blaze, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal, which ruled the incident accidental.

When they arrived, firefighters saw smoke showing and traced the blaze to a second-floor apartment, according to Rich Gardiner, spokesman for the Harford County Voluteer Fire and EMS Association.

Within 10 minutes, Gardiner said the fire had been knocked.

A cat was rescued and taken for treatment to a local vet, where the feline was reportedly doing well.

Nobody else was inside the apartment, according to Gardiner, who said the fire contained to the room where it began.

The resident of the apartment was displaced, the fire marshal reported. There was an estimated $20,000 in structural damage, while $5,000 worth of items inside the apartment were lost as well, officials said.

"Damages were kept to a minimum, and firefighters should be commended for their actions," according to a statement from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. "The fire was quickly contained and extinguished due to the early notification and rapid response of the fire department."

Images courtesy of the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company and the Office of the State Fire Marshal.