4 Displaced By $250K Christmas Morning House Fire

WESTMINSTER, MD — A Carroll County home sustained an estimated $250,000 damage on Christmas Day from a fire, but no injuries were reported, authorities said.

The fire appeared to start on the rear porch of the two-story home at 683 Sunflower Court in Westminster, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's office. Discarded smoking materials likely caused the fire, which was deemed accidental, officials said.

The Westminster Fire Department and Carroll County Fire/EMS were called to the blaze just before 3 a.m. after a neighbor spotted the fire.

Smoke alarms activated during the fire.

Four adults have been displaced by the fire damage, the fire marshal said, and the Red Cross is assisting them.