Flames From Unattended Burn Barrel Spread To Neighbor's Home In Cecil County: Fire Marshal

A Cecil County family came home to an unwanted surprise over the weekend when flames from an unattended burn barrel spread from a neighbor's backyard into theirs, according to the Office of the Maryland Fire Marshal.

The Cecil County fire in North East.
Photo Credit: *Office Of The Maryland State Fire Marshal*

Zak Failla

10/21/2024 11:03 a.m.

Shortly before 3 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, first responders from the North East Fire Company were called to the 100 block of Superior Court, when a passerby reported a fire in the area.

According to investigators, the owners were not home at the time of the fire, and witnesses reported observing the fire in the barrel next door, which spread to a fence and adjacent shed in the yard of 102 Superior Ct.

The preliminary cause was determined by fire investigators to be accidental, due to unattended open air burning in the backyard of a neighboring property.

Fire officials said that the owners are displaced and self-assisting. The neighboring home only sustained minor damage, officials said. It caused an estimated $100,000 in damage.

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