24 Families Displaced After Two PG County Fires

VIA THE WASHINGTON POST:

Two unrelated fires in Prince George’s County over the holiday weekend — one caused by an unattended candle and the other by an electrical problem — displaced 24 families from their homes. A third fire in the county, involving a car, left a man dead.

Firefighters think that a candle ignited a unit at 538 Wilson Bridge Dr. in Oxon Hill about 5:45 p.m. Saturday, setting the three-story garden-style apartment building ablaze. Firefighters from the town arrived to find heavy fire consuming the second and third floors and the roof. The fire spread to an apartment building at 540 Wilson Bridge Dr., and dozens of firefighters and paramedics responded. The fire was under control by 7:30 p.m.

Fire officials said 23 families, including 56 adults and 11 children, were displaced from their apartments and provided with temporary shelter in hotels. No residents or firefighters were injured. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million.

A second fire, in Seat Pleasant, started later Saturday night at 417 Carmody Hills Dr. Fire officials said the blaze, on the second floor and in the attic of the single-family home, took about 30 minutes to extinguish. Losses were estimated at $50,000, and a family of seven was displaced.

Police and fire officials are investigating a third fire that occurred Saturday night, involving a car in Baden. Firefighters were called to the 15200 block of Baden Naylor Drive about 11:15 p.m. and found a car engulfed in flames. After putting out the fire, officials found a body inside. They have not released the man’s identity.

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