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Electrical malfunction starts attic fire in Valley Lee home
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by JOHN WHARTON
Second District volunteer firefighters shovel and pitch debris from Friday's house fire in Valley Lee from windows in the home's damaged second floor.
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State fire investigators have determined that an electrical malfunction started a blaze last Friday in a Valley Lee home, resulting in $30,000 damage and spurring a response from 46 St. Mary's firefighters.
The fire at the Blake Creek Road residence of Elizabeth Poor and George Anderson displaced its occupants, the state fire marshal's office reports, and Red Cross volunteers took steps to assist them as a lengthy cleanup of the site commenced.
"We had a lot of smoke coming from the front of the house," Capt. Joe Bean of the 2nd District Volunteer Fire Department said of the scene as it appeared to the first crews to arrive. They encountered thick tongue-and-groove paneling and plywood flooring as they tried to access the area where the fire began.
"The fire in the attic was hard to get to," Bean said. "They had to cut through all of that before they could start putting it out."
The firefighters also responding from Bay District, Ridge, 7th District, Leonardtown, Hollywood and Patuxent River battled the blaze for one hour that afternoon to bring it under control, according to a notice of investigation from the preliminary response by deputy state fire marshal Caryn Moreland. Crews remained at the scene almost four hours after the initial alarm. One firefighter was treated at St. Mary's Hospital for a cut on a hand and was released, according to county officials and online reports by assisting fire departments.
On Saturday afternoon, county officials report, a caller to 911 dispatchers told them that a fire extinguisher had not completely doused smoke discovered at the damaged house. Second District volunteer firefighters returned to the scene for about 30 minutes.
