(Photo: WBOC)SALISBURY, Md.- The Maryland Fire Marshal said that two families were displaced following an accidental fire that ruined a Salisbury home at around 4 a.m. Sunday.
"When I got out here fire was blazing out the third window," said Oak Hill resident, Charles Cotton, of Salisbury.
Cotton's home is just a couple doors down from the incident.
An investigation revealed that four units in a two-story house on Georgia Avenue were affected by the fire that started as the result of unattended cooking.
"I was downstairs sleep and I woke up because I smelled smoke," said Cotton. "And I was hoping it wasn't coming from my kitchen."
Fire officials told WBOC the fire started in the kitchen of unit "m," where a pot was left on the stove.
The tenants of unit "M" were not home when the fire started, but friends of the tenants were housesitting, according to officials.
"I just feel for the family," said Cotton. "I know it has to be devastating."
Along with Salisbury firefighters, crews from Hebron and Fruitland also assisted with controlling the fire.
Fire officials say it took 40 firefighters 45 minutes to battle the blaze.
The unit of where the fire started was occupied by friends of the tenants who were out of town.
The loss to the structure was estimated at $400,000.
