Fire Marshal: Riverside Condo Building Condemned After Blaze

BELCAMP, MD – Authorities say that 15 residents were displaced after a condo fire in Riverside early Sunday morning. The blaze caused $1 million in damage, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

At 2:18 a.m., crews responded to a building fire in the 1400 block of Golden Road Court, the fire marshal said.

The tenant in a second-story residence awakened to see flames impinging on the patio windows but was unsuccessful using a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, according to the fire marshal. Another person at the condo activated a manual pull station to alert autorities and called 911.

About 70 firefighters helped put out the fire, which officials said started on a second-floor balcony. The cause remained under investigation as of Sunday night.

Residents were evacuated as firefighters handled the incident, according to Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association spokesman Rich Gardiner.

The blaze was placed under control around 3 a.m., Gardiner said, and nobody was injured.

Parts of the third floor collapsed into the second floor at the building, which the fire marshal said was severely damaged by fire and water. There was $750,000 in structural damage to the three-story, 12-unit building, officials reported. Approximately $250,000 worth of items inside were also lost, according to the fire marshal.

The Harford County Department of Inspections, Licenses and Permits condemned the building, according to the fire marshal.

As a result, 15 people and their pets were displaced, officials said, and Harford County Disaster Assistance and Red Cross officials were assisting them.

Pictured, fire broke out on Oct. 1 at the Arborview at Riverside. Photo Credit: Abingdon Volunteer Fire Company EMS Chief Susie Tingler.

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