ABINGDON, Md. — When firefighters first arrived on the scene at Laurel Woods Court, they saw no evidence of the fire.
It was contained inside a townhouse where 13-year-old Dominic Shrodes recalls the moment he became aware of it.
“I heard this loud explosion. I thought it was lightning for a second,” Dominic recounted, “and then I heard like a smoke alarm and smoke coming up and my mom said,
‘Get out there’s a fire!’ and then we ran out.”
VIDEO: Abingdon mom saves her home with a garden hose
Dominic’s mother, Danielle Shrodes, says she too was caught off guard after her teenage daughter was trying to finish some laundry when the mundane turned into a manic situation.
“She started the dryer and then she heard a popping noise and kind of looked back in there and saw flames coming from behind the dryer so she just started yelling, ‘There’s a fire!’” Danielle told us, “and I grabbed the hose from out back on the deck and just tried to put it out the best I could.”
Danielle’s children, including one with a newborn baby, all evacuated as she doused the flames before the heat and smoke prompted her to escape as well, but not before closing the door behind her, which also stymied the fire’s ability to spread.
“We’re very proud of what she did. She certainly controlled that fire,” said Master Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkirel, “It could have easily escalated beyond that laundry room and throughout that home. So kudos to her for first of all having the wherewithal to get her family out then to actually take the time to pull that garden hose in and actually control that fire.”
Surveying the damage, investigators estimated the loss from the fire at $15,000 for the structure and 10,000 in contents.
Evidence now points to an electrical problem as the source of the fire, which is consistent with the charred evidence it left behind.
“It’s like the entire power box just exploded,” recalled Dominic, “I didn’t even see it anymore when I went back down to Ground Zero.”
