CUMBERLAND — State fire marshals are investigating a second-alarm fire that involved two homes in Cumberland’s Decatur Heights district Monday afternoon, an Allegany County Joint Communications Center spokesperson said.
“While responding we received information of one house involved, extending to a second house,” Cumberland Fire Department Chief Shannon Adams said. “When we arrived the main fire house’s second floor was engulfed in fire and extending to the second house.”
The fire was reported just before 2 p.m. in the 100 block of Bellevue Street, the communications center spokesperson said.
Adams said that both residences were vacant at the time of the fire.
“We went to a second alarm because of having two houses burning and the weather conditions,” Adams said.
Units from Cumberland, Bowling Green, Bedford Road, Cresaptown, LaVale, Corriganville, Rawlings, Shaft, Ellerslie, Ridgeley and Wiley Ford from Mineral County in West Virginia and ambulances from LaVale and Allegany County Department of Emergency Services responded, the communications center spokesperson said.
Adams said it took approximately 50 firefighters 20 to 25 minutes to control the blaze.
Units remained on scene until approximately 4 p.m.
The scene was turned over to two deputy state fire marshals to investigate, said Ngan Ho, an Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s spokesperson.
One firefighter was injured on scene after falling on ice, but did not require transport to a hospital, according to Adams. No other injuries were reported.
The city’s streets department was requested to the scene to apply salt because of icy conditions, Adams said.