Two Fires Extinguished Near Treatment Facility

MARYLAND CITY, MD — Firefighters from five area fire departments worked for hours Friday night to put out fires in two vacant buildings at the New Beginnings Juvenile Detention Center, authorities said.

The facility is described as a secure residential treatment facility for boys.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department said on Facebook that security guards reported a fire just after 10 p.m. near 8400 River Road. The 2 ½ story building was fully involved in flames when the first units arrived. A second, single-story structure had fire showing in several rooms.

Both buildings were vacant structures on the old Forest Haven Asylum property.

Seventy firefighters from Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Howard Counties, as well as Fort Meade and BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, brought the fires under control in about an hour. But, units remained on the scene extinguishing hot spots for almost five hours.

No injuries were reported.

The property falls under the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia government and investigation is being conducted by the Fire Investigations Branch of the Office of the Fire Marshal of the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.

»Fire photos courtesy of Anne Arundel County Fire Department via Facebook