Smoke Alarm Saves Glen Burnie Man From House Fire: Officials

GLEN BURNIE, MD — A smoke alarm alerted a Glen Burnie man to a house fire early Friday, allowing him to escape the blaze that caused extensive damage, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Officials said that the homeowner escaped the fire without injuries after the alarm sounded about 12:45 a.m.

County emergency dispatchers received multiple calls from neighbors reporting fire at the rear of the one-story house on Mapledale Avenue in Glen Burnie. Fire crews from the Anne Arundel and Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Fire & Rescue Departments were called to the blaze. Firefighters found smoke coming from the front of the home and fire coming from the rear of the home. A total of 31 firefighters brought the fire under control in less than 30 minutes.

The Anne Arundel County Fire and Explosives Investigation unit is investigating the cause of the fire. Damage is estimated at $160,000 and there were no injuries reported. The adult male of the home did not require the services of the Red Cross.

Smoke alarms make a difference, says the National Fire Protection Agency:

• In 2009-2013, smoke alarms sounded in more than half (53%) of the home fires reported to U.S. fire departments.
• Three of every five home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• No smoke alarms were present in more than one-third (38%) of the home fire deaths.
• One of every five (21%) of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
• In reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate, almost half (46%) of the smoke alarms had missing or disconnected batteries. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected smoke alarms.

Patch file photo