UPDATE 4/17/2025 @ 4:30 P.M.: Deputy State Fire Marshals continue to investigate the cause of a house fire that claimed the life of two Charles County residents.
On April 17, 2025 at 6:15 a.m. the Bel Alton Volunteer Fire Department and surrounding departments were dispatched to 9690 Brunswick Road in Faulkner for a structure fire.
Upon their arrival, they observed a two-story house fully involved in fire and received reports that the owners of the home were not accounted for.
Firefighters encountered severe hoarding conditions inside the home during suppression efforts. It took 50 firefighters two hours to bring the blaze under control.
Firefighters located the second-floor occupants and owners of the home 62-year-old Robert Bowling, and a 70-year-old Kim Dickens deceased in the remains of the home.
A tenant that resided on the first level of the home was able to escape uninjured.
Damages to the structure are estimated to be $175,000.00 and another $75,000.00 to the structure’s contents. Smoke alarms were found in the home but it is unknown if they were working.
The two deceased men have been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to determine the cause of death.
The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Photos courtesy of the Bel Alton Volunteer Fire Department.
On Thursday, April 17, 2025, at approximately 6:16 a.m., firefighters from Charles, Prince George’s, Calvert, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland, along with units from Virginia, responded to the 9000 block of Brunswick Road in Faulkner, Charles County, for a reported house fire with occupants trapped.
Dispatchers received multiple 911 calls reporting that the house was on fire and that two people were unaccounted for.
While en route, crews requested a working‑fire dispatch after observing a large column of smoke.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a large two‑story residence with heavy fire showing and confirmed that two people were still missing on the second floor.
Despite more than an hour of rescue efforts and searches, both victims were located on the second floor and pronounced deceased.
Charles County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators from the Office of the Maryland State Fire Marshal responded and are investigating.
No other injuries were reported, and all firefighting personnel were accounted for.
This is the second fire of the morning for Charles County, the first fire being an hour prior in La Plata, leaving the home destroyed, two dogs missing and sent one firefighter, and one homeowner to the hospital.
Firefighters remain on the scene to assist investigators, wet down hot spots and perform overhaul.
All photos are the property of ScanMD.
