Aberdeen House Fire Sparked By Discarded Cigarette: State Fire Marshal

ABERDEEN, MD — A family has been displaced after a chair on fire on their rear porch spread to their home Tuesday night.

The fire broke out around 9:46 p.m. Jan. 14 at a home located in the 600 block of Edmund Street in Aberdeen.

According to the state fire marshal's office, the owners were in their bedroom and saw an orange glow outside the home. They found a chair on fire on the rear porch. The homeowner told his family members to get out of the house and he attempted to extinguish the chair fire himself. But the fire spread quickly. Firefighters arrived and were able to limit the fire's damage to the exterior of the home, according to the Aberdeen Fire Department.

It took firefighters around 10 minutes to extinguish the fire. It was determined that a discarded cigarette had sparked the fire and it was ruled accidental, the department stated. The one-story, single family home sustained an estimated $75,000 in damage and loss of property. Two adults and four children have been displaced, but are being helped by friends and family, the fire marshal's office stated.