Overview
- Responders found the two-story home heavily engulfed in flames and discovered the homeowner dead on the second floor after firefighters brought the fire under control; his 10-year-old child escaped unharmed following the incident that began around 9:40 p.m. Sunday.
- Deputy State Fire Marshals are examining spent ground-based sparklers that the family had discarded in a trash can on the rear deck to see if the remnants kept enough heat to ignite combustible material.
- The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal is leading the origin investigation while the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the father’s official cause and manner of death.
- Local volunteer fire departments, including Leonardtown VFD, responded to the blaze and worked to extinguish heavy fire that spread through much of the two-story single-family home.
- Acting State Fire Marshal Jason Mowbray urged residents to soak used fireworks and place them in a noncombustible container outdoors before disposal as fireworks-related injuries and fires rise over holiday weekends.