MD- Two killed in house fire

11-1-2008 Maryland:

Officials continue to investigate cause of blaze in Thurmont

THURMONT -- Fire and law enforcement officials are trying to determine the circumstances under which two men died in a house fire early Friday.

The Frederick County State's Attorney's office is assisting in the investigation should the deaths be classified as homicides, State's Attorney Charlie Smith said.

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office and the state and county fire marshals' offices are also investigating the blaze that gutted a single-family house, according to Michael P. Dmuchowski, spokesman for Frederick County Fire and Rescue.

Dmuchowski said Friday afternoon that investigators have not found any smoke detectors in the two-bedroom house. He said the men were found near the bedrooms toward the back of the house.

Fire and rescue units arrived in the 12800 block of Catoctin Furnace Road about 3:30 a.m. and noticed flames showing from three sides of a house, Dmuchowski wrote in an e-mail Friday.

Frederick County Sheriff's Office Capt. Tim Clarke identified the two tenants of the house as Erik Sanger and Eric Forrest. However, the remains have not been identified.

Clarke said the bodies were taken to the state Medical Examiner's Office for autopsies.

Dmuchowski said about 60 firefighters originally responded to the fire. Additional units, including a tanker task force, were later requested to assist with water, Dmuchowski said.

The fire caused damages

estimated at about $60,000.


Friends, family gather


Friends and family members of the men believed to have died gathered in the parking lot of Dale's Place, a local liquor store and bar about 100 feet from the scene of the fire.

They joined in tearful embraces, or spoke consolingly with one another, remembering the two men.

Dale Kemp, owner of the house, said both Sanger and Forrest were good men who helped him when he asked. Kemp said they were model tenants for the year they lived in the house.

From time to time, Sanger and Forrest stopped for a drink at the bar Kemp owns, Dale's Place, after work, he said.

Kemp said they both grew up in Thurmont and attended Catoctin High School. Both men were longtime friends and had children, he said.

Kemp said he bought the house about eight years ago and had the inside redone. The single-story, wood-and-cinder-block house was "big enough for two bachelors," Kemp said.

When asked if the house had a smoke detector, Kemp said, "absolutely ... I know it's not my fault. Still it isn't easy .... We don't know what happened yet."

Kemp said Sanger's son played with his grandchildren.

"Erik took his child trick or treating last night," Kemp said. "He was going to take him again tonight."

Dale's Place was open Friday afternoon and would remain open Friday evening. A group of people were inside the bar.

One of them was Robin Smith. She went to school with Forrest's sister and her husband worked with Forrest when they were both in their 20s, she said. "They worked for Sterling Concrete in Woodsboro. They made vaults for graves."

She said Forrest had a son and a daughter. The daughter is a teenager, 14 or 15 years old. The son is 21 years old.

"Last time I saw Eric Forrest, he was here at the bar," she said. "They had a band playing. It was probably a couple months ago. He was his upbeat crazy self. He's always been like that, just always full of life."

Earlier inside Dale's Place, Debbie Stackhouse spoke on the phone with someone about retrieving Sanger's beagle, which had been tied up outside overnight and had escaped the flames.

Stackhouse, an employee at Dale's Place, said she wanted to give the dog to Sanger's son.

A Halloween party slated for the evening would still go on, Stackhouse said, but more as a tribute to Sanger and Forrest.

Jeff Powell worked with Forrest in the timber industry for years and considered him his best friend.

Powell said Forrest had two children. ..News Source.. by Pamela Rigaux