Fire In Parsonsburg Claims Two Lives, Firefighter Injured
PARSONSBURG, Md. — The Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Maryland State Police are investigating the cause of a fire that erupted in Parsonsburg early Sunday morning. The fire claimed two lives and sent an off-duty firefighter to the hospital.
Fire officials say a passerby called 911 just before 2:40 a.m. when he observed smoke and flames coming from a home located on Old Ocean City Road. He then knocked on the front door and windows, attempting to wake the owners. At the same time, an off-duty Ocean City firefighter who also volunteers with the Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Company arrived on the scene.
The volunteer firefighter kicked in the rear door in hopes of locating someone and discovered a victim. He attempted to remove the victim but was overcome by the smoke and had to exit the home for his safety. Maryland State Police Aviation Command later flew him to a Baltimore-area hospital, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
“The home was divided into two apartments. They were unrelated occupants. One on the second-floor apartment, one on the first-floor apartment. The fire department was able to get the lower-level occupant out of the home, but the victim was deceased. The second victim was found later in the fire investigation,” Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Matt Stevens said.
Fire companies from Wicomico, Worcester, and Sussex Counties responded to the fire. It took around 100 firefighters and nearly two hours to bring the fire under control. Firefighters later located the remains of two victims inside.
As of Monday afternoon, the cause and origin of the fire were still both under investigation, and the victims had not yet been identified. “There’s nothing that’s jumping out at us as being suspicious in the fire, but right now we don’t have anything exact as far as a cause,” Stevens said.
“This is a heartbreaking incident for the Parsonsburg community and for the fire service. An off-duty firefighter did what firefighters do — he acted without hesitation to try to save lives. We are grateful he is expected to recover. Tragically, two lives were lost, which reminds us how quickly fires can turn deadly. Every home should have working smoke alarms and a home escape plan,” Acting State Fire Marshal Jason M. Mowbray said.
Deputy State Fire Marshals have not determined whether smoke alarms were present. The victims were taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, where they will be positively identified and have the cause of death determined.
