BY MARIA D. JAMES — Two firefighters, one from the Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department and one from the College Park Volunteer Fire Department, sustained minor injuries when a roof collapsed on top of several firefighters trapping them early Friday morning. The firefighters were responding to a house fire on the 6700 block of Baltimore Avenue. Local units were alerted to the house fire shortly after 2 a.m.
Assistant Fire Chief Alan Doubleday, of Prince George’s County Fire Department, reports that the injuries sustained were non-life threatening. A Mayday was called and quickly cleared. Both were taken to a local trauma center where they were treated and released on the same day.
“It was an intense four minutes for all of us,” said Assistant Fire Chief Doubleday.
The initial alarm included units from Bladensburg, Riverdale, College Park, Chillum, Brentwood & Chillum Adelphi.
Five University of Maryland students, who lived in the home, were displaced by the fire. All escaped from the blaze unharmed. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Damage is estimated at $175,000, according to the Prince George’s County Fire Department (PGCFD). It is reported that the home’s smoke alarms did work. The home next door also sustained damage to the vinyl siding.
Click here for video and photos of the incident from the HVFD website.
