HARFORD COUNTY, Md. — An 84-year-old woman escaped a house fire with her three pets after an Amazon driver helped rescue her from her burning Harford County home Wednesday morning.
The fire broke out at 11:13 a.m. in the 100 block of Creek View Court, according to the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal.
The woman was alone in her basement when her dog's barking alerted her to danger. Looking through a window, she spotted smoke and went upstairs to investigate.
When she reached the front door, she saw flames engulfing the front porch. She quickly moved to the back door to let her two cats outside when an Amazon delivery driver noticed the fire and called 911.
The driver then spotted the woman trying to escape through a side sliding glass door and assisted by pulling her to safety. Her dog also managed to escape on its own.
It took 35 firefighters with the Whiteford Volunteer Fire Company and Bel Air VFC approximately 20 minutes to bring the blaze under control.
The Fire Marshal's Office determined the preliminary cause was improperly discarded wood stove ashes.
"PLEASE! Treat ALL ashes and coals as HOT ashes, even when you think they've had time to cool," the Fire Marshal's Office warned. "Store cooled ashes in a tightly covered metal container outside and at least 10 feet from your home or nearby buildings. Your house, deck, or garage is an unsafe place to store ashes."
Three adults are currently displaced, with damages estimated at around $150,000, with content inside of the home valued at about $100,000.
