Guests were evacuated from a children’s recreational bounce house facility in Forest Hill on Friday after a fire ignited from a fan blower.
At about 12:45 p.m. on Friday, emergency personnel were dispatched to the Jump On It on Industry Land in Forest Hill for the report of a fire in a commercial building.
A parent observed smoke then flames coming from the fan blower. He notified the front desk employee. She subsequently notified all guests (approximately 25) over the intercom of the fire, who were then able to safely exit the building. The same parent attempted to extinguish the fire with a portable fire extinguisher to no avail, while the employee went to utility room and shut off electricity to most of the tents, causing them to deflate.
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal said “It is without a doubt this action contained most of the fire to the Batman bounce house and prevented flames to spread to the others, causing more damage.”
The fire originated from a floor model fan powering the Batman bounce house and a preliminary cause was ruled accidental, due to mechanical failure of fan blower.
Firefighters from the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company responded and had the blaze under control within 45 minutes.
The Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal estimated $200,000 in damage to the structure and another $250,000 in damage to its contents.
There were no injuries reported.
The building sustained extensive smoke, soot and water damage. An estimated re-opening date has not been provided.
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