Anne Arundel fire investigators on Monday said they could not pin down the origin of a fire that killed a man early that morning in Bay Ridge, southeast of Annapolis.
Firefighters found the one-story, wood-frame house about 1 a.m. on the 1100 block of Mace Road fully engulfed in flames and immediately called for a second alarm, said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a county fire spokesman.
Kendall Brown, 42, was found dead inside the house after 63 firefighters, including some from the U.S. Naval Academy’s fire service, battled the shooting flames until they were brought under control around 2:15 a.m., Tobia said.
Investigators determined the cause of the fire was accidental, Tobia said.
Anne Arundel police also responded to the fire, but are not involved in the investigation because evidence of foul play does not exist, said police spokesman Sgt. John Gilmer.
Brown’s death marked the county’s third fire-related fatality so far this year, Tobia said, compared with five fatalities for all of 2007.
Investigators said Brown did not appear to have functioning fire alarms in the house.
“This fire highlights the very real danger that fire poses to residents,” Tobia said.
“Nearly half the people who die in residential structure fires are dying between normal sleeping hours, which shows the critical need for functioning smoke alarms.”
The fatal blaze comes on the heels of “Fire Prevention Week,” in which Anne Arundel firefighters promoted fire safety awareness and conducted a countywide blitz to check and replace residential fire alarms in 12 different communities, Tobia said.
A 36-year-old firefighter from the academy is expected to be released Monday from Anne Arundel Medical Center after being treated for a minor neck injury caused during the incident, he said.
The early-morning blaze resulted in “extremely extensive damage” estimated at $200,000, Tobia said.
The house was declared a total loss.
