Maryland grandparents left devastated after fire tears through camper: 'This is their home'
Fast-moving fire rips through RVs at Maryland campsite
A destructive fire, captured on camera by a neighbor, destroyed a southern Maryland couple's longtime home. FOX 5's Bob Barnard is live from the scene of the fire.
ST. LEONARD, Md. - A destructive fire, captured on camera by a neighbor, destroyed a southern Maryland couple's longtime home.
Near-total loss:
There’s not much left of two trailer homes that were perched along the Patuxent River in St. Leonard, Md.
One of them was occupied while the other is a seasonal camper. Both were destroyed by a fire fueled in part by Tuesday afternoon's ferocious winds.
"The northwest wind blowing off the water, off the point, it just drove the fire," Fire Chief Ricky Weems says.
The trailer belonged to Hanna Chandler's grandparents. She says they made it out safely but just about everything they owned is gone.
"That was my grandfather's truck and they tried to pull it out, but it didn't make it," Chandler told FOX 5. "They lost their entire house. They had a box trailer with all of their important papers. Everything. Nothing is left. They lost everything. But they're OK? They're completely fine. No injuries. Nothing. That's the only thing that matters. Everything else is replaceable."
READ MORE: Multiple campers destroyed in fast-moving fire at Patuxent Camp Sites in Calvert County
Shocking moments:
David Lambert was the one who caught the devastating fire on camera.
"If it was nighttime, and they were sleeping, it could've been really bad," Lambert said.
He's a neighbor at the Patuxent campsite. He recorded video of the fire with his phone after knowing the couple was safe.
"The flames and the smoke were just overwhelming. Hats off to the firefighters. Mad respect for them, because you couldn't even breathe," Lambert said. "And everything was exploding like propane."
Two other nearby campers were damaged as well.
"So, total, in all, there are four campers that are a complete total loss, and you'll see when you pan around two are saved, but I'm not sure how good they are. Even if they're fixable."
Suspected cause:
The chief of the St. Leonard Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company says they were at the site several days ago for a medical emergency and noticed that it was very hot inside the trailer.
They were told by the couple that they were having issues with the furnace which they were hoping to get resolved after the first of the year.
Chief Weems says the faulty furnace would appear to be the cause of the fire.
"Obviously, we can't tell 100% about that because the camper's gone, so we'll never know for sure, but just from that prior incident hearing that there was an issue with the furnace, that's what we believe it to be," Weems said.
Chandler says her grandparents are staying at a hotel for now, but she says they’ll probably return to the campsite when possible.
"They love it here. This community is amazing here and their friends are here. Our family is here. This is what they've known. This is their home," Chandler said.