An 83-year-old woman was taken to the hospital after suffering minor smoke inhalation after a house fire in Hartford County Wednesday morning.
Harford County firefighters responded to a call for a fire at a home on the 400 block of Burnside Drive in Bel Air, Md. The fire is believed to be accidental, caused by the mechanical failure of a sump pump. A father and son noticed the smoke coming from the basement and stopped. While one called 911, the other knocked on the door to alert the victim, Mary Mitchell, of the fire. Mitchell was home alone at the time of the blaze.
Firefighters said the fire was contained to the basement, taking roughly 30 minutes to control. Roughly $50,000 of structural damage and $50,000 of damage to the home's contents was estimated as a result of the fire, largely caused by extensive soot and water damage.
