Juvenile Charged with Arson, Man Injured in Edgewood Apartment Blaze

A man sustained minor injuries and a youth was charged with arson and reckless endangerment in connection with a fire which broke out in an Edgewood apartment early Thursday morning.

The blaze was reported shortly after 3:30 a.m. Thursday by the female occupant of an apartment on the 900 block of Cedar Crest Court North in Edgewood, according to the state fire marshal’s office.

The woman found that a male juvenile had ignited the tent he was sleeping inside in the apartment’s living room. The blaze was extinguished by the apartment’s sprinkler prior to the arrival of four firefighters from the Joppa-Magnolia Volunteer Fire Company.

However, an adult male present sustained minor injuries attempting to put out the fire, but refused treatment at the scene, fire officials said.

The sprinkler’s activation caused significant water damage to the apartment and a unit below, estimated at $9,000. Damages to the apartment’s contents were estimated at $1,000.

The youth was charged with arson and reckless endangerment for his role in the fire. He was released to the custody of his parent and referred to the Department of Juvenile Services.

“If it wasn’t for the sprinkler system activating I believe this incident could have escalated to further injury to the other occupants of the apartment who were asleep at the time of fire,” Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said in an e-mail.