Emergency Calls Double During Sandy

Emergency responders in Anne Arundel County received more than double the typical call volume in a 24-hour period, with more than 400 calls coming in during the post-tropical storm known as Sandy. About half of those calls were storm related.

Division Chief Michael Cox of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department confirmed that one person died when a tree fell a house in Pasadena Monday night. Firefighters also responded to a major fire in the Edgewater area.

“This was a very large and very dangerous storm," Cox said. 

Cox said the only known fatality in the county came when a tree fell on a house at the 7700 block of Suitt Drive in Pasadena. Firefighters arrived to learn a man had been trapped. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold told WBFF-TV Fox 45 that the victim was a 73-year-old man who was in his kitchen at the time. 

Cox said police and firefighters responded to two calls of cars taking on water in the area of Hammonds Ferry Road. At about 6:30 p.m. Monday, police rescued someone from a car at the Snyder's Willow Grove Restaurant in Linthicum. 

Then, at about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, police also helped extricate two people from cars taking on water near the intersection of Nursery Road and Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard in Linthicum, Cox said. 

Firefighters also battled a two-alarm house fire in Edgewater Monday night. Crews responded to the 3700 block of Hull Drive in the Turkey Point section of Edgewater. They arrived to find visible fire coming through the second floor and the roof. 

Cox said fighting the fire was made difficult by the heavy winds, and by a lack of hydrants in the area. Crews used tanker trucks to bring in water, and the blaze was under control in about an hour. There were 64 firefighters on scene battling the fire, but there were no reports of injuries. One occupant of the house escaped safely.