Christmas Eve Fire at Ridgeville Salon

On December 24 2008, at approximately 1557 hours (3:57 pm), Box Alarm 1-1 was dispatched for a building fire in the unit block of East Ridgeville Boulevard at the Heads Up Hair Salon. Units from Mt. Airy, Lisbon, and Sykesville were already handling two previous calls in the Mt. Airy area when the dispatch was made. Ladder 12 from Sykesville arrived first on the scene along with Montgomery County Chief 717 and reported smoke showing from the roof area. ET-14 and Lisbon ET-44 arrived shortly after and began an attack while Ladder 12 worked the roof and second floor area. The second floor apartment was found vacant, and no one was in the salon on arrival of the first units. Aerial ladders were used to access the roof so holes could be cut to vent the smoke and heat and find the seat of the fire. Electrical power lines were a problem from early on as downed power lines and live lines close to the building created a hazardous environment from which to work. Allegheny Power did arrive and secured the power to the building so final fire extinguishment could occur. The predominance of the damage occurred in the roof and second floor area, but there was some damage to the salon. The fire was controlled in approximately 40 minutes, and most units were clear by 1830 hours (6:30 pm)
The call was handled with a box alarm assignment and RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) dispatch. There were approximately 20 pieces of apparatus and 80 personnel on the scene from fire companies in Carroll, Howard, Frederick, and Montgomery counties. There were no injuries, civilian or firefighters. The origin and cause of the fire was determined by the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office to be a live power line blowing on to the roof and igniting the structure. Damage to the structure was estimated at $50,000 and $5,000 damage to the contents.