Maryland State Fire Marshal
News Release
Martin O’Malley Governor
Brian S. Geraci State Fire Marshal
FATAL FIRE INVESTIGATION IN LUSBY CALVERT COUNTY, MD (October 10, 2014) – The Office of the State Fire Marshal along with the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the cause of a fire that claimed the life of an adult victim at 1117 Muskogee Lane in Lusby, Calvert County. The fire was originally observed and called into 911 at 4:40 a.m. Nearly 50 firefighters responded from Solomons, St. Leonard, Prince Frederick, Huntingtown, Hollywood and Bay District Volunteer Fire Departments to bring the fire under control within 25 minutes. The blaze consumed most of the second floor portion of the 1½ story single-family dwelling causing the 2nd floor to collapse as fire burned through the roof of the occupied home. Two occupants, Nick Brown (20) and the property owner, Joseph Wentzel (53) escaped the blaze uninjured. During extinguishment, firefighters located the body of an adult victim in the kitchen area as result of the collapse of the upper floor. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will confirm the identity and cause of death for the victim. Although smoke alarms were present, investigators determined they were not operating during the incident. The origin and cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time. (See attached photo on page 2).
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The Office of the State Fire Marshal is an agency of the Department of State Police dedicated to helping protect citizens from fire and explosion through a comprehensive program of education, inspection, investigation and fire protection engineering. For more information on fire safety call 1-800-525-3124, log onto our website at: www.mdsp.org/firemarshal and/or http://facebook.com/MarylandStateFireMarshal. Media contact: Bruce D. Bouch, Deputy State Fire Marshal; 443-324-6876
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