Employee Charged In Franklin Square Hospital Fires: Police

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — After five fires broke out at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center over the weekend, police said Monday that an employee has been charged. All fires were set in the same manner, according to investigators, who allege all were set intentionally.

Emani Doretha Coclough, 23, of the 600 block of Middlesex Road in Essex, has been charged with five counts of second-degree malicious burning.

Police said Coclough is an employee of MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center who was working in the hospital when the weekend fires occurred.

Interviews, evidence and other investigative techniques helped detectives identify her as the person responsible for the fires in the 9000 block of Franklin Square Drive, officials said.

Around 9:45 a.m. Sunday, crews were alerted to one fire on the fourth floor and another on the fifth floor of the medical center. When hospital staff checked, they found two additional fires, according to police.

Firefighters also handled a trash bin fire after 3 p.m. Saturday in what police described as a "soiled utility room on the third floor."

Because of the suspicious nature of the fire Saturday, police said officers were called to investigate.

The state fire marshal commended Baltimore County for its response.

"Job well done to our partners at [the] Baltimore County Police Department for closing these cases quickly," the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal said in a statement Monday. "These fires could have easily spread out of control if not for fire sprinklers and the quick response of [the] Baltimore County Fire Department."

See Also:

• Small Fires At Franklin Square Hospital Reported
• Franklin Square Hospital Fire Prompts Patient Transfers: Report