Couple Sustain Burns after Breaking into Carsins Run Mobile Home; Accidentally Starting Fire

A man and woman were transported to regional hospitals Sunday morning to treat burn injuries they suffered after allegedly breaking into a Carsins Run mobile home and inadvertently setting it on fire.

Just after 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, emergency personnel were dispatched to the 1900 block of Carsins Run Road in Aberdeen for the report of a fire in a vacant 14-ft by 70-ft wood framed mobile home.

The fire was discovered in the living room of the mobile home by its occupants. During the course of the investigation, it was determined that a woman had broken into the residence the night before in an attempt to keep warm for the evening. A male friend later accompanied her in the early morning hours. Both discovered the fire and the man attempted to extinguish the fire with water, but due to no water being connected to the house, the man extinguished the burning woman by patting the fire out. Both later escaped by breaking out a rear bedroom window and jumping to safety.

The woman was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center with 2nd Degree Burns, while the man was transported to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center with minor burns to his hands.

The initial cause of the fire was blamed on a candle igniting nearby combustibles (blankets).

Twenty-five firefighters from the Abingdon Fire Company responded to the blaze and had it under control within 30 minutes.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal estimated the fire resulted in $10,000 in damage to the structure and another $5,000 in damage to its contents.