(Updated) Residents Jumped From Second Floor To Escape House Fire in Elkridge

(Updated 2/19 8 a.m.)

As flames ate through the first floor of their house, two men jumped from the second story of their Loudon Avenue home on Friday evening, resulting in one of them being transported to Shock Trauma, according to Howard County Fire Battalion Chief Eric Proctor.

Emergency crews were called at 11:52 p.m. after a neighbor reported that there was a fire across the street on the 6500 block of Loudon Avenue, said Proctor.

The caller said that there were people trapped inside the home.

As firefighters arrived, they witnessed two adult males jump from the second floor of the house to escape, landing in the yard, Proctor said. In all, nine adults and one infant escaped the fire, Proctor said in a statement released Saturday.

A Howard County police officer was taken to Howard County General Hospital and treated for smoke inhalation, Proctor said.

Upon medical evaluation, one of the men refused treatment and the other was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore for injuries resulting from the jump, Proctor said. The man who refused medical treatment is now staying at a neighbor's house.

The detached, two-story home was "heavily involved in fire" when crews arrived on the scene, with the entire first floor engulfed in flames and the fire spreading throughout, Proctor said.

Approximately 60 firefighters responded to the incident, coming from Howard, Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties. While they worked to put out the fire, Loudon Avenue was closed to traffic.

By 1 a.m., the fire was under control.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation, Proctor said.