ELKTON, Md. — As firefighting goes, this one was a battle as it took nearly 100 men and women almost three hours to extinguish the flames on Main Street in Elkton that left Donald McDaniel homeless.
“My cousin who lives here too called me up and said, ‘The house is on fire’,” said McDaniel, “So I go pick my girl up. She’s two months pregnant, and now, we’ve got nowhere to live.”
Investigators say it appears the fire started outside a three-story commercial building before the flames jumped to the former Howard House—-a vacant 30-room, 15-thousand-square-foot building dating back to before the Civil War.
“I saw a dumpster over here, and it sounded like maybe somebody had crashed into a dumpster, cause it was like a hollow sound,” said Dave Scarbrough who lives across the street from the fire, “and then after that I basically started seeing more people and then the smoke started pouring out the back.”
In all, nine people living in the apartments have been displaced and one firefighter suffered minor injuries.
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While the fate of the historic Howard House and Hotel is uncertain, it’s the future of those victims, which now takes priority.
“The Red Cross gave us $500 on a card to get a hotel room and clothes and stuff, but that’s about it,” said McDaniel.
“That isn’t going to take you far?” we asked.
“No. Not at all,” McDaniel responded, “The motel costs $120 a night. You know what I mean? But it’s something.”
Damage from the fire to the two buildings is estimated at $1.5 million.
