Crime & Safety
Motel Fire in North Laurel, Apartment Building Blaze in Ellicott City
No serious injuries were reported following a pair of fires Friday in Howard County.
There were no injuries following a two-alarm motel fire late Friday night at the in North Laurel, according to Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue spokesman Eric Proctor.
Firefighters were called at about 11:25 p.m. to the motel on the 9700 block of Washington Boulevard. There, they saw a two-story fire, one that brought out about 60 firefighters from Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties.
Thirty motel guests and staff were evacuated.
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The fire, which started on the first floor, spread to the second floor and the roof. It took about an hour to get under control and did an estimated $187,000 in damage, Proctor said.
The fire started in a dryer at the motel, but the actual cause of is still under investigation, according to Proctor.
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The building was equipped with working fire alarms but had no sprinkler system, Proctor said.
Earlier on Friday in Ellicott City, two families had to evacuate their homes after a morning fire that firefighters were able to put out quickly thanks to the help of sprinklers, according to authorities.
Firefighters responded to the apartment blaze on the 8600 block of Falls Run Road at about 9 a.m., where the fire was contained to a single unit on the second floor, according to county fire department spokeswoman Jackie Cutler.
A woman and a 4-year-old who were home when the fire broke out were able to evacuate before rescuers arrived. The child had a minor injury from evacuation but was not taken to the hospital, Cutler said.
The building had sprinklers, which helped contain the fire, but also caused water damage in the unit below, where another family had to evacuate, Cutler said.
The Red Cross is assisting the families.
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