Published on: Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Two early morning commercial fires under investigation

Prince George’s County Firefighters battled two early morning fires involving commercial structures with the cause of each fire still under investigation.

The first fire occurred just before 4 a.m., Sunday, March 7, in Bowie. Firefighters were alerted to a fire on a construction site in the 12900 block of 11th Street. Fire/EMS units encountered a fire involving a small structure, three cement trucks and large amounts of debris.

About 30 firefighters worked for about 45 minutes to knock down the bulk of the fire. AMTRAK officials worked with firefighters as the site was adjacent to the tracks. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation and fire loss is estimated at $2,000,000.

The second fire occurred at about 5:30 a.m. at a BP Gas Station at Addison Road and Martin Luther King Highway in Seat Pleasant. Firefighters arrived to find the one-story structure well involved with fire. There were 35 firefighters on the scene that worked for about an hour to contain and extinguish the fire. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation and fire loss is estimated at $200,000.

Hyattsville resident succumbs to burn injuries

A father rescued along with his young daughter by firefighters from their burning Hyattsville apartment on Feb. 26 has succumbed to his injuries.  Firefighters responded to the 3200 block of Toledo Place, Toledo Plaza Apartments, and arrived to find a fire in a second floor apartment of the three-story brick apartment building. Firefighters located two unconscious occupants, a father and daughter, an adult male and female child, were immediately removed to the exterior of the building where medics initiated medical care.

The adult male sustained critical burn and smoke inhalation injuries and transported to a Burn Unit. The female child was suffering from smoke injuries and transported to a hospital specializing in the treatment of children.  Medics were successful in resuscitating her prior to arriving at the hospital.

Fire Investigators determined the fire was accidental and attributed to an extension cord. An extension cord, powering a space heater, was underneath a couch and ignited the fire. Fire damage was estimated at $60,000.

The 3-year-old female spent the weekend in the hospital until her release on Monday. Her father, Mohamed M. Magassouba, 39 years-of-age tragically, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday, March 3.

Fire displaces Clinton family

Firefighters were called to a single-family home in the 3300 block of Accolade Drive in Clinton Tuesday afternoon, March 2.

The fire was soon located on the lower level and extinguished. No residents were home and no injuries were reported.

A family of four, two adult females and two children, have been displaced and have been assisted by the Fire/EMS Departments Citizen Services Unit and the Red Cross with temporary shelter.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and a preliminary fire loss is estimated at $200,000. The structure sustained $150,000 in damages and $50,000 in damages to the contents.

— From fire reports