By Adam Nolder
Just before midnight on March 10, 2017, firefighters from Howard County (MD) Department of Fire and Rescue Services (HCDFRS) were alerted for a tree on fire along Triadelphia Rd just south of Frederick Road. While units from the West Friendship fire station were responding, a second call came in from Emerald Court reporting that it was a house on fire and that people were possibly trapped inside.
The call was immediately upgraded. bringing additional HCDFRS and Carroll County units. First-arriving units found a single family home fully engulfed in fire and the roof beginning to collapse. It was quickly determined that the occupants of the home were able to evacuate prior to the fire department’s arrival.
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Water supply was established using tanker trucks and the bulk of the fire was under control within about 45 minutes. It took almost two hours to completely extinguish the fire and the home is considered a total loss. There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians during this incident and the occupants of the home were in the process of moving out so they have made their own arrangements for shelter.
Fire Investigators are currently on the scene but will have to resume operations tomorrow due to the collapse of the structure. The approximate value of the home was $650,000.
Firefighter Adam Nolder serves as on-call public information officer for Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
