CHESTERTOWN — The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal has ruled that Tuesday’s structure fire in the 300-block of Union Church Road was accidental. The cause was determined to be failure of heat tape that had been applied to a water line in the crawl space.
The fire, which originated in the crawl space, was brought under control in five minutes, according to a news release from the fire marshal’s office.
No injuries were reported.
According to the news release, homeowners discovered the fire at 5:26 p.m. Dec. 3.
The news release and online records of the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation list the owners of the two-story, single-family home as Joseph and Jamie Richardson.
A smoke alarm was present and activated, according to the news release.
Church Hill Volunteer Fire Company was the primary responder.
The news release estimated loss to be $5,000.