Fire At Marina Forces Store To Close: Officials

CHASE, MD — An accidental fire at a store in a Chase marina caused $500,000 in damage this weekend, officials said.

Nobody was hurt, but the store will be closed indefinitely until repairs are made.

The one-alarm blaze drew 40 firefighters to Dundee Creek Marina, located at 7400 Graces Quarters Road within Gunpowder Falls State Park.

Investigators said an unspecified electrical or mechanical malfunction in a chest freezer sparked the flames in the garage.

An employee and a fisherman discovered the fire Saturday around 6:04 a.m. Both escaped safely.

The fire spread rapidly with the flames fueled by a shelf of rags, clothing and a can of lighter fluid used for barbecue grills on the property.

The garage doors also collapsed, and a skylight broke during the fire.

First-arriving units reported fire through the roof, the White Marsh Volunteer Fire Company said.

The Baltimore County Fire Department controlled the blaze within 20 minutes.

There was $250,000 in damage to the building, whose smoke detectors activated properly.

About $250,000 in contents were lost inside the building, which is owned by the Maryland Park Service.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is the primary investigative agency because the fire happened on state property.

This map shows the marina where investigators said the fire broke out.