Bel Air Girl Alerts Neighbors To House Fire

A Bel Air family safely evacuated their burning home Sunday after a teenage neighbor let them know the house was aflame.

Deputy fire marshals credit the teen girl and prepared homeowner with preventing disaster.

Around 7:59 p.m., the 17-year-old neighbor noticed smoke coming from the house across the street from hers in the 500 block of Poplarwood Court, according to a release from the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.

The girl immediately let the homeowner know what she saw and he put out the fire in his fireplace with a fire extinguisher then tried to put out the fire on the roof, the release states.

When he checked the attic, the owner found heavy fire that was spreading quickly.

Fire crews arrived a short time later and contained the fire to a small part of the roof. The 40 firefighters from Bel Air, Fallston and Jarrettsville volunteer fire companies contained the blaze within about 20 minutes.

"This could have had a more tragic outcome if it was not for the time of day, the alert neighbor and the owner keeping the fire in check with his home extinguisher," Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver J. Alkire wrote in an email. "Where the fire breached the roof and entered the attic was above the owners bedroom. The young woman without a doubt saved this family and their home from more damage than what had occurred."

The fire caused about $50,000 damage to the home and $20,000 damage to what was inside it. Officials believe the fire started accidentally when embers from the chimney set the roof on fire.