On Saturday, May 31, 2025, at approximately 8:55 p.m., firefighters and emergency medical services responded to 4028 Summer City Boulevard in Chesapeake Beach, for the reported house on fire.
Crews arrived on the scene to find smoke and fire showing from a single story home with all occupants having evacuated prior to the fire department’s arrival.
Over 50 firefighters responded to the scene, first arriving crews quickly made entry to find fire contained to a single bedroom and extinguished it in under 15 minutes with slight extensions located. Crews operated on scene for over an hour.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Maryland State Fire Marshal, however, the cause is not suspicious in nature.
The two occupants of the home were displaced and are being assisted by The American Red Cross. A GoFundMe has been started, you can assist by sharing or clicking here. The owner/occupants is identified as Karen Strine with the estimated loss of structure and contents valued at $150,000.00
Firefighters urge that the outcomes reinforced at this fire include the value of working smoke alarms, the importance of the closed door, and the wisdom of quickly evacuating the structure. A working smoke alarm alerted the occupants to the fire. The occupants located the fire behind a closed bedroom door and remembered to pull the door closed after discovering the fire. They immediately exited.
These actions kept the fire primarily confined to the room of origin with minimal extension into the hallway, and saved the lives of all inside.
All photos courtesy of the family, and the North Beach Volunteer Fire Department.
