FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (Nov. 15, 2012) -- Nine Fort Meade firefighters were first on the scene of a two-alarm fire on Nov. 7 in Seven Oaks, the same Odenton apartment complex where a fire broke out a block away just six weeks earlier.
Last week's fire started just after 1 p.m. in the 2000 block of Kintore Circle, across from the Llewellyn Avenue gate.
Firefighters from the Anne Arundel County and Fort Meade fire departments responded to the blaze that swept quickly through all three levels of the building, said Division Chief Michael Cox of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.
"Conditions deteriorated rapidly and it took 60 firefighters about 30 minutes to bring it under control," Cox said.
No one was injured. "A few people were home but they escaped prior to the arrival of firefighters," Cox said.
Twelve apartments sustained smoke and water damage, and at least three apartments were destroyed, said Fort Meade Deputy Fire Chief Bruce Smith.
"The rapid actions of our firefighters along with solid tactics during the initial fight saved the structure, preventing about two-thirds of the individual apartments from receiving any damage," said Lt. Col. J. Darrell Sides, Fort Meade provost marshal and director of the Directorate of Emergency Services.
Thirty people were displaced including two Soldiers from the 400th Military Police Battalion and the 310th Military Intelligence Battalion. One of the Soldiers had relocated to the building after he was displaced from the previous fire.
A Fort Meade ladder truck and engine truck responded to the Nov. 7 blaze, which started in the rear garden, said Smith.
Investigators determined that the fire was accidental, caused by "improperly discarded smoking materials," said Cox.
On Sept. 30, more than 60 firefighters from surrounding counties responded to the two-alarm fire that damaged 12 apartments, including four occupied by installation personnel, said Sides.
The Fort Meade Fire Department was the second arriving engine and the first truck at the fire, which started at around 6:05 p.m. on a third-floor balcony in the 2000 block of Military Place.
The cause of the fire was accidental, attributed to the use of a grill too close to the building, said Cox.
About 20 residents were displaced. Property managers worked to relocate them within the complex, said Cox.
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