Fire destroys large home on Ailanthus Drive east of Hagerstown
A fire that was already through the roof when firefighters arrived on the scene caused the destruction of a home and most of its contents east of Hagerstown on Wednesday night, but no one was seriously hurt, according to Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co. Chief Kirk Mongan.
Two firefighters sustained minor injuries battling the blaze in the 12700 block of Ailanthus Drive, but they did not require treatment, Mongan said.
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No one was at home in the two-story, 3,700-square-foot brick house when a neighbor reported the fire around 9:15 p.m. Information about the occupants was not immediately available from official sources Thursday morning, he said.
The cause is under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office, according to Mongan, who noted that lightning storms had moved through the area earlier.
Firefighters initially received conflicting reports about whether anyone was inside, so a search team went in to check the first floor, but they came back out when a neighbor confirmed that the occupants weren't home, Mongan said.
"The roof was completely burning and starting to collapse into the second floor and we didn't want to put firefighters at an unnecessary risk," he said.
The lack of fire hydrants in the area meant that a half-dozen tanker trucks had to pull water from Antietam Creek at a drafting site at Clopper and Old Forge roads and haul it to the fire scene. Maneuvering the convoy of big tankers around those narrow rural roads presented a challenge, according to Mongan.
"We didn't have any problems once that was taken care of," Mongan said. "It's just a little complex."
Firefighters rescued two parakeets from the basement and turned them over to a neighbor to care for, he said.
Mongan estimated some 65 to 70 first responders from about a dozen area agencies in Washington County and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, were at the scene for about three hours.
He said all homes should have working smoke detectors, and that homes in rural areas would benefit from monitored fire alarms and sprinkler systems.
"It's unfortunate that it happens when people aren't home and they're not there to notice it and call it in immediately," Mongan said.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: No one seriously hurt in fire that destroyed home east of Hagerstown
