OCEAN CITY, Md.- Authorities have ruled as accidental a late Monday night house fire that left a man dead in West Ocean City.
The Worcester County Fire Marshal's Office said that shortly before 11 p.m., a Worcester County sheriff's deputy was on patrol when he observed smoke and fire coming from a shed at the rear of a home located at 9961 Elm St.
The Ocean City Fire Department and Berlin Volunteer Fire Company responded to the scene and quickly extinguished the fire.
When notifying the occupants of the property about the incident, officials found out that a man was living in the shed. The man succumbed to his injuries. The name of the victim is being withheld pending positive identification by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation.
Investigators discovered the fire was caused by a heating appliance located too close to combustibles. No smoke alarms were present in the structure.
Worcester County Fire Marshal Jeffrey A. McMahon is reminding the public to “Give space heaters space," to follow all manufacturer’s instructions on distance from things that can burn, and to always have a working smoke alarm in all sleeping areas.”
