May 26--A three-alarm fire tore through a Glen Burnie apartment complex Sunday, damaging a dozen units and displacing 24 people, including eight children.
The fire broke out around 2:20 p.m. at County Club Apartments in the 7500 block of East Furnace Branch Road.
When Anne Arundel County firefighters arrived, they discovered smoke and flames coming from the roof of a three-story building. Additional units were called in from Baltimore and Fort George G. Meade.
Dozens of people stood in the parking lots and grass surrounding the building as firefighters worked to control the blaze.
James Keith, who lives in a nearby unit, said he was unloading groceries from his car when a neighbor came running out of the building and told him to call 911. Flames were coming from the roof, he said, and they were spreading quickly down the length of the building.
"It went up like a tinderbox," Keith said.
Several tenants said the complex doesn't have sprinkler systems. A recent investigation by the Maryland Gazette revealed about half of the 31,000 apartments in Anne Arundel County, including Annapolis, lack the safety measure.
"That's dangerous," Keith said. "They should have sprinkler systems in here."
Resident Theodore Bowie's apartment was right below the unit where witnesses said the fire started. He wasn't home at the time, but said he rushed back when he heard about it.
"I was hoping it wasn't our building," he said as he stood outside with other residents and watched firefighters combat the blaze.
Karen Aimes said she was gardening outside her building nearby when she saw the flames emerge from the top floor.
"It looked like a little bonfire," she said. "Within three minutes it was completely engulfed."
Aimes looked sadly at the building as firefighters combed through the rubble. While not all of the neighbors knew each other by name, she said they still look out for each other.
"It's heartbreaking," she said.
Three of the 12 damaged units were vacant, Fire Department spokesman Eric Hammack said, though it is unclear how many residents were home when the fire started. The residents who were home self-evacuated, Hammack said.
While nobody was injured, several residents said one dog may not have made it out. Firefighters searched for the dog, but were having trouble finding it late into the afternoon.
The dog's owner sat shirtless on the grass outside a nearby building and walked away when a reporter approached him. He was able to get one of his dogs out, but not the other one, his neighbors said.
Despite the damage, it wasn't all bad news.
As firefighters looked for hot spots, Capt. Chuck Phillips approached resident Lorri Stone with a cat in his arms. Stone's worry quickly turned to joy as she realized it was one of her cats, stuck in the apartment when the fire broke out. She had been at work and wasn't able to get inside to rescue them.
Stone gave her cat an emotional hug.
"I was worried about my animals, but I'm really happy all the people got out safe," Stone said.
One resident, who identified herself only as "Tawny," said she scrambled from her apartment with her sons and her sister after seeing smoke billowing by her window. Her sons' parakeets were stuck inside, so she asked a firefighter to go in and bring back their cage, she said.
Flames didn't reach Tawny's apartment and the firefighter obliged, bringing the cage to the family as they stood in the parking lot.
"It makes me happy that he would go back in and get them," she said.
The American Red Cross responded to the scene to help the 24 effected residents, Hammack said.
Deb Shaw, from nearby Abundant Life Church, also was on hand, looking for residents who may need help getting new clothes or furniture. She encouraged any effected residents to call the church at 410-761-9075.
"This is such as shame," she said, noting that many church members live in the area. "It really hits home."
Fire officials say the cause appears to be accidental but is still under investigation.
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