One Home Destroyed, Another Damaged In Resort Fire

OCEAN CITY - A late-night fire Tuesday completely destroyed one residence in Montego Bay in Ocean City and damaged the exterior of another.

Around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the Ocean City Fire Department (OCFD) responded to the area of 130^th Street for a report of heavy smoke. At first, the source of the smoke was uncertain and for a short time, firefighters were concerned it could have been a commercial property in the area.

'We couldn't tell at first where the heavy smoke was coming from, and we thought it might have been a commercial property along Coastal Highway,' said OCFD Public Information Officer Steve Price.

As it turned out, the smoke was coming from an unoccupied mobile home on Pine Tree Rd. in the Montego Bay community. First responders discovered the residence completely engulfed in flames and smoke. Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control in a little over an hour and remained on the scene until about 2 a.m.

Price said frigid temperatures on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning complicated firefighting efforts somewhat.

'It got a little tricky because it was so cold and with all that water flying around, the streets and the sidewalks quickly froze,' he said.

The residence was unoccupied and no injuries were reported. The mobile home appears to be a total loss and the fire spread to an adjacent unit, but the damage to the second residence was minimal. Units from Bethany Beach responded and assisted Ocean City firefighters. The Ocean City Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire and no cause has been determined.