At 2:20am on Sunday November 21, 2021, the Ocean Pines Vol. Fire Department was alerted to assist the Berlin Fire Company for a residential structure fire at 110 Branch Street in Berlin, MD. Dispatch advised that the Homeowner woke up to smoke conditions throughout the home and successfully evacuated the residence with two small children.
Upon arrival, the crew from Ocean Pines Engine 1102 found an older balloon style home with smoke showing. According to
Old House Web, "Balloon framing is a style of wood-house building that uses long, vertical 2" x 4"s for the exterior walls. These long "studs" extend uninterrupted, from the sill on top of the foundation, all the way up to the roof." This style of construction can be very challenging when involved in a fire as the flames can easily travel through the walls, floors and eventually the attic space undetected.
Our firefighters immediately joined in the efforts to locate the seat of the fire and participated in extinguishment efforts as well as overhaul. Due to the unique challenge presented with balloon style construction, the incident commander requested additional responses from multiple departments within Worcester County as well as Wicomico County and Sussex County, Delaware.
The incident is currently being investigated by the Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office.
Please remember that help is always just a phone call away; if something doesn't seem right/normal, call 9-1-1 before it is too late. Additionally if you are living in a home with balloon style construction, make sure you have extra smoke detectors to alert you as soon as possible to any potential fires.
Units on Scene: Ocean Pines Engine 1102, as well as apparatus from multiple departments in Worcester and Wicomico County, Sussex County, DE and Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office.
