Route 40 Medical Building Blaze Caused $10K in Damage: Fire Marshal

Fire broke out in a medical building in Edgewood Thursday morning in a blaze that was deemed accidental and attributed to an electrical malfunction, the Office of the State Fire Marshal said.

At 10:53 a.m. on Thursday, an employee at the Harford County Ambulatory Surgery Center in the 1900 block of Pulaski discovered the fire, according to the fire marshal.

The fire began in a bathroom ceiling fan where an electrical failure occurred, the fire marshal reported.

Since the fire was inside the fan, above the ceiling, the fire alarm went off but sprinklers did not activate, according to the report.

Approximately 25 first responders from Joppa-Magnolia, Abingdon, Kingsville and APG as well as Harford County hazardous materials personnel arrived and brought the fire under control within 20 minutes, the report said.

It was 15 degrees outside, Joppa-Magnolia reported, so extra crews had been called to the scene to help shelter those who had to evacuate the building. The hazardous materials vehicle helped rehabilitate firefighters, none of whom was injured, according to Joppa-Magnolia.

The fire caused $5,000 in structural damage; and $5,000 in materials inside the building were lost as well, the fire marshal reported.