Abingdon Apartment Fire Resulted In Rescues, Injury, 24 Displaced

ABINGDON, MD — Two dozen people were displaced as a result of an apartment fire on Christmas night in Abingdon, according to authorities. A firefighter was injured in the blaze, where several people had to be rescued from their balconies, the fire marshal reported.

There was $200,000 in damage, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

The fire began in a bedroom closet at an apartment complex as the result of smoking material that was improperly discarded, investigators said.

When crews were called to the Woodsdale Apartments in the 3600 block of Woodsdale Road at 9:08 p.m. on Saturday, more than 30 firefighters responded, according to the fire marshal.

The flames had spread rapidly in a bedroom at the 12-unit apartment building, officials said, even though the tenant who found the blaze in her bedroom poured buckets of water on the fire in an attempt to put it out.

As she and her 69-year-old father evacuated, officials said smoke filled the hallways and blanketed the building. Several tenants stood on their balconies until firefighters rescued them.

Smoke was showing from the back of the building when crews arrived, according to the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company, which reported the fire was in a second-floor apartment.

Soot, smoke and water damage made the building uninhabitable for 24 tenants, who received help from the Red Cross and Harford County Disaster Assistance, according to the fire marshal.

Firefighters contained the fire itself to the unit where the fire began, officials said.

A firefighter from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center for treatment of a minor leg injury, authorities reported. Two tenants suffered from minor smoke inhalation but declined medical attention.

There was $100,000 in structural damage, according to the fire marshal, who estimated $100,000 of items inside the building were lost.