Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A faulty power strip may have caused a townhouse fire in Elkton, Md.
- C.J. Fowler's girlfriend, Tiffany Honaker, is in critical condition from burns.
- A fire sprinkler system saved lives in another Elkton home fire that night.
ELKTON, Md. — It's suspected a faulty power strip may have started the fire on the second floor of the townhouse on Thyme Street in Elkton just after midnight on Monday.
C.J. Fowler sprang into action when he learned his girlfriend and 6-month-old son, Waylin, were trapped.
"Girlfriend was screaming upstairs," recalled Fowler. "I got up to go see what she was screaming about. Couldn't make it up the steps. Screamed to her, 'Open the window! Throw the baby out!'"
Doctors have already released Waylin from the hospital, but his mother, Tiffany Honaker, is in critical condition at the Bayview Burn Center after crawling through the flames to make it downstairs.
"She is stable, doing a little bit better. Hoping to remove the tube tomorrow as long as she keeps progressing," said Fowler.
"So she got some smoke inhalation?" we asked.
"Yes, smoke inhalation and burns — face, neck, chest, arms and hands" he replied.
It was a busy night for the Singerly Fire Department after firefighters spent three hours extinguishing the fire on Thyme Street before receiving the call for another fire here on Weed Lane.
It's suspected a deep freeze in the garage may have sparked the fire, and four adults and a child all made it out in time thanks to a special feature of the home.
"This was one of the newly-built homes with a fire sprinkler system," said Master Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire, "That system there gave them time enough to actually get out of the house and get away."
The owner suffered from smoke inhalation, saving two of his dogs, and had to be restrained from going back in for the third, which tragically perished as smoke filled the home.
"I know that pets are like family members and that's a very difficult thing," said Chris Plank, the victims' neighbor, "but it's never a good idea once you get out of the house to go back in."
