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http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/anne-arundel/bal-ar.fire1201,0,1531744.story
Man's remains found in fire-ravaged Arundel home
By Andrea F. Siegel 4:30 PM EST, December 1, 2009
The charred remains of a man were discovered Tuesday in an
Annapolis Roads house destroyed in a fire so huge that it was seen from the
Eastern Shore.
Anne Arundel County fire officials would not speculate on whether the corpse
was that of the 62-year-old homeowner, who lived alone and had not been seen
before or since the Monday evening blaze. The body, located shortly before
noon, was turned over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for
identification and cause of death, said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia.
Public records show Kenneth A. Riegert as the owner of the burned frame
house at 2604 Ogleton Road, in the Bay Ridge area southeast of Annapolis.
"It's a terrible tragedy, no doubt about it," Tobia said.
It was the first fatal fire this year in the county, Tobia said. Last year,
there were four, including one in October 2008 that also was in the Bay Ridge
vicinity.
Tobia said the 58 responding firefighters were not troubled by strong winds and
other problems that hampered efforts to battle a fire that destroyed two homes
nearby last December. Since then, a new firehouse has opened close by. The first
911 calls came shortly before 5:30 p.m. Monday from nearby residents reporting
the house engulfed in flames.
Firefighters arrived within two minutes of being sent from the Annapolis Neck
firehouse that opened in May and had a fireboat drawing water from Lake Heron.
Though the fire was contained in less than 90 minutes, firefighters continued
searching through rubble for the man they were told was not accounted for and
for the cause of the fire. The search was halted at one point due to fear that
chunks of the partially collapsed house would fall on firefighters. Tuesday
morning, firefighters brought in privately owned cadaver dogs that found the
body, Tobia said.
Investigators combing debris Tuesday afternoon had "no idea" what caused the
blaze, Tobias said, noting "it's possible that we may never know the cause."
No other homes were threatened by the fire, he said; none of the 58 firefighters
was hurt.
The fire was seen from across the Chesapeake Bay, where emergency dispatchers in
Queen Anne's County had taken calls about it.
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