ABINGDON, Md. — By the time firefighters arrived at the burning two-story home on Suitland Place in Abingdon, neighbors had alerted the couple inside and helped them escape in time.
The fire happened Saturday afternoon, and at first, nearby neighbors Valerie and Eddie Roberts believed it was their home, which had caught on fire.
“We weren’t here. We were on our way home from a Christmas outing and my Ring kept on going off,” Valerie recalled, “and every time I looked at my Ring, there were people in my driveway, and they were saying, ‘There’s a fire! There’s a fire! And we were afraid that it was our house.”
Fire leaves senior couple displaced in Abingdon
“It looked like they were looking right at our backyard,” added Eddie, “and they kept saying, ‘It’s getting bigger and bigger!’”
Initially, witnesses told investigators they believed either a vehicle or a battery charger inside the garage may have started the fire.
They’ve since ruled those out and point to a discarded cigarette as the likely source.
“I felt so bad for them. I just can’t imagine how they feel right now,” said Valerie.
“Thirty minutes is all it took to burn all of that damage,” Eddie told us, “500 thousand dollars in damage. Thirty minutes.”
A setback for a couple, which had been settling in for the holidays, now, taking stock of what they’ve lost in a matter of minutes.
“We’ve lived here for 35 years, and I think they’ve been here just about as long,” said Eddie, shaking his head, “They were senior citizens like us and that’s tough.”
