Columbia Townhouse Blaze Displaces 6 People: Officials

Firefighters from five counties battled a blaze in Columbia that displaced residents and their pets Thursday after flames spread from one townhouse to a Christmas tree outside another, officials said.

Before 10:15 a.m., firefighters responded to the 5400 block of Ring Dove Lane, where a three-story, end-of-group townhouse was engulfed in flames, according to a report from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

Three people were inside when the fire started, and they got out on their own, the report said.

After winds caused the fire to spread to an adjacent residence and ignite a discarded Christmas tree, more than 50 firefighters were called in from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George’s counties to assist, according to the report.

• PHOTOS: Columbia Townhouse Fire

“The winds were so heavy, they pushed the fire over to a tree that was outside [a neighboring home], and that caught fire,” Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services Public Information Officer Jackie Kotei told Patch.

Crews put out the tree fire quickly, and brought the residential blaze under control within 30 minutes, she said.

The home where the fire started was posted as uninhabitable, according to Kotei. Six people and two dogs who live there were displaced and are being assisted by the Red Cross, she reported.

Two neighboring homes were also posted as uninhabitable, but those residents were not there at the time, Kotei said.

Two people were injured, according to the report from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services. A firefighter had a minor injury and a civilian who suffered a fall unrelated to the fire was taken to Howard County General Hospital, Kotei said.

By 1 p.m., the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services reported that Little Patuxent Parkway had reopened at Vantage Point Road.

Howard County fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.

Previously published report—Neighbors were evacuated and a road closed as the result of a fire in Columbia that blazed for more than half an hour Thursday morning, officials said.

At 10:30 a.m., crews were at the scene of a residential fire in the 5400 block of Ring Dove Lane, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services reported. There was “heavy fire” on two levels of the structure, according to the report.

By 10:40 a.m., the department reported the fire had spread to a nearby building and the incident was upgraded to three alarms, meaning additional personnel were needed to assist in the firefighting operation.

Neighbors were being evacuated, officials reported.

By 11:05 a.m., the fire was out, according to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

Vantage Point Road is closed at MD Route 175.

Photo Credit: Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

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