According to Dwayne Ausherman, Deputy Chief with the Independent Hose Company, the fire started due to a defect in the home’s chimney.  Damage to the home is estimated to be $30,000.  The occupants were displaced and there were no firefighter or civilian injuries.  The occupants will be staying with friends and family.

The fire department arrived to find a two-story, single-family home with fire showing from the front door and window on the first floor of the home.  While responding to the scene, firefighters learned that an occupant of the home was not accounted for and upon arrival, immediately began a search and rescue effort to locate the victim.

Firefighters located an adult male in the kitchen of the home who was unconscious.  The victim was quickly removed from the home and immediately treated by emergency medical personnel.  Due to the nature of the victim’s injuries, he was flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to MedStar in Washington, DC.  The victim is listed in critical condition.  Four people normally occupy the home; however, the victim was home alone at the time of the fire.

The fire was brought under control within 30 minutes.  Damage to the home is estimated to be $200,000.  Two dogs and two cats perished in the fire.  Fire and rescue units from Loudoun County, Virginia, and Washington County, Maryland also assisted.

Investigators from the Frederick County Fire Marshal’s Office, Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Frederick County Bureau of Investigation were called to the scene to investigate the cause of the fire.  Investigators have determined that the fire originated in the living room on the first floor of the home; however, the exact cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The committee will seek information and share a mutual understanding on issues of public concern; provide an ongoing forum for public input and a sustained information exchange; identify issues of concern to the community and present accurate information in order to foster a greater understanding of laboratory missions and research, and encourage discussions of laboratory safety for Fort Detrick and the community.
Membership on the committee will include one representative each from the county, city, private-sector health field, private-sector life sciences industry and five at-large local citizens. There will also be a Fort Detrick liaison assigned to the committee who is not a member of the committee. Members will elect a chair to run the meetings.
The County Commissioners and the City Mayor and Board of Aldermen will approve members of the committee at their October 14 meeting and set the final objectives and guidelines for the group.
Meetings will be held quarterly in the third floor meeting room of Winchester Hall, 12 East Church Street, Frederick, Md. The sessions will be broadcast live on FCG TV, cable channel 19, City cable channel 99, and on webcasting at www.FrederickCountyMd.gov/video and www.cityoffrederick.com.

The accused is identified as Allen L. Nichols, 45, of the 200-block of Knoxville Road, Knoxville, Md. After consultation with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office, State Police homicide investigators have charged Nichols with first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, first degree assault, and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The accused has been taken to the Frederick County Central Booking Unit at the detention center where he is being held without bond, pending a bond review.

The victim is identified as Terry J. Nichols, 43, of the same address. Nichols was the brother of the accused and lived in the same home with their mother and an older brother. The victim’s body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.

Maryland State Police troopers and Frederick County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 200-block of Knoxville Road, Knoxville, Md., at about 10:45 p.m. yesterday, after a 9-1-1 call was received reporting a shooting at a residence there. The victim was found in the kitchen of the home and was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel on the scene. The victim had sustained what appears to be a gunshot wound to the head. No other persons in the home at the time of the shooting were injured.

Police found Allen Nichols in a bedroom upstairs. He was arrested without incident.

Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigators, with assistance from State Police crime scene technicians and investigators from the Frederick County Bureau of Criminal Investigation, continue to process the scene this morning and conduct interviews of witnesses. A handgun has been recovered from the house and will be forwarded to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Laboratory for ballistic examination to determine if it was used in the murder.

The preliminary investigation indicates the victim was on the first floor of the home last night talking with his mother and others who were there. They heard the accused banging on the floor of his upstairs bedroom and said they were aware he was apparently upset over noise they were making.

Minutes later, the accused allegedly came downstairs and met the victim who had gone into the kitchen. An argument ensued between the two and witnesses heard a gunshot.

The investigation is continuing.

via Maryland State Police.

The accused is identified as Allen L. Nichols, 45, of the 200-block of Knoxville Road, Knoxville, Md. After consultation with the Frederick County State’s Attorney’s Office, State Police homicide investigators have charged Nichols with first degree murder, second degree murder, manslaughter, first degree assault, and use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The accused has been taken to the Frederick County Central Booking Unit at the detention center where he is being held without bond, pending a bond review.

The victim is identified as Terry J. Nichols, 43, of the same address. Nichols was the brother of the accused and lived in the same home with their mother and an older brother. The victim’s body has been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.

Maryland State Police troopers and Frederick County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 200-block of Knoxville Road, Knoxville, Md., at about 10:45 p.m. yesterday, after a 9-1-1 call was received reporting a shooting at a residence there. The victim was found in the kitchen of the home and was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel on the scene. The victim had sustained what appears to be a gunshot wound to the head. No other persons in the home at the time of the shooting were injured.

Police found Allen Nichols in a bedroom upstairs. He was arrested without incident.

Maryland State Police Homicide Unit investigators, with assistance from State Police crime scene technicians and investigators from the Frederick County Bureau of Criminal Investigation, continue to process the scene this morning and conduct interviews of witnesses. A handgun has been recovered from the house and will be forwarded to the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Laboratory for ballistic examination to determine if it was used in the murder.

The preliminary investigation indicates the victim was on the first floor of the home last night talking with his mother and others who were there. They heard the accused banging on the floor of his upstairs bedroom and said they were aware he was apparently upset over noise they were making.

Minutes later, the accused allegedly came downstairs and met the victim who had gone into the kitchen. An argument ensued between the two and witnesses heard a gunshot.

The investigation is continuing.

via Maryland State Police.

via City of Frederick.

One Emmitsburg team, called “In Our Prime” is quickly advancing through the ranks.

Read full story via Your 4 Sfate

The Parks and Recreation Department of the city of Frederick, MD recently decided to hang three dummies from a tree as part of its Halloween program. The dummies’ “overstuffed shirts, blue jeans and white, faceless heads” sparked concern from Frederick residents who complained that “the figures evoke images of lynchings.” According to one resident:

“It instantly reminded me of the pictures of the lynchings that happened in the ’20s and ’30s in the United States,” he said. “I found it very offensive as a white person.”

via Think Progress

The three-county chase reached speeds of up to 110 mph, striking two police cars but injuring no one, according to police.

Read full story via wtop.com.

A 2006 KTM motorcycle traveling north on Md. 85 about 5:30 p.m. tried to slow in tandem with a 2008 Infiniti, as the car made a left turn onto Greenfield Road, police stated.

Read full story via The Frederick News-Post Online.

They say an “overwhelming” number of people attended their flu shot clinic, this past Friday, and the department has not received another supply.

Read full story via your4state.com

Officials from the local Episcopal diocese are amongst a number of faith-based organizations that are urging their members to develop a few new habits to avoid spreading germs.

Read full story via DNN

FREDERICK COUNTY, MD – The Frederick County Health Department announced Monday that they will be canceling all of their remaining flu clinics, because they have run out of the flu shot.

They say an “overwhelming” number of people attended their flu shot clinic, this past Friday, and the department has not received another supply.

This year there will be two vaccines: one for regular seasonal flu and one for pandemic H1N1 flu. The following clinics are currently planned to give seasonal flu vaccine only.  Please note this may change after we receive pandemic H1N1 vaccine.  Any changes will be announced.

Clinic Dates and Times
• September 29, 2009   12 noon – 4:00 pm  Frederick Towne Mall, 1301 West Patrick Street
• October 16, 2009  10:00 am – 2:00 pm – Brunswick High School 101 Cummings Drive, Brunswick, MD – Governor Thomas Johnson High School 1501 North Market Street, Frederick, MD – Urbana High School 3471 Campus Drive, Ijamsville, MD
• October 22, 2009   9:00 am – 3:00 pm Guardian Hose Company Activities Building, 123 East Main Street, Thurmont, MD
• October 23, 2009   1:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Emmitsburg Senior Center, 300 South Seton Avenue, Emmitsburg, MD
• October 27, 2009   2:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Brunswick Park Building, 600 Block of East Potomac Street, Brunswick, MD
• Additional flu clinics are being planned and will be held throughout Frederick County.
• No appointments are necessary.  Flu shots and FluMist® will be available at all clinics.
• Payment can be made with cash or check; credit or debit cards are not accepted.  Those with Medicare Part B are reminded to bring their card.
• Vaccine costs: Flu shots- $20.00; FluMist®- $25.00
• Children ages 5-11 years can receive either injectable or intranasal vaccine FREE of charge. This has been made possible by a State grant.
• Who can get the flu shot?   People 6 months of age or older, including pregnant women and those with chronic medical conditions.
• Who can get FluMist®?  Healthy people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant.

Important: Clinic dates are subject to change.
Please check the Health Department’s Flu Clinic Information Line (301-600-3035 in English or Spanish) or
the Health Department’s website (www.frederickcountymd.gov/fluclinics) for the most current information.

Frederick County, MD – Official Website.

The driver of a Mitsubishi was ejected from the vehicle following a single car collision at Md. 464, Point of Rocks Road, east of Lander Road in Frederick County, and pronounced dead at the scene by fire department personnel, according to police.

Read full story via wtop.com

Read full story via your4state.com

The burglaries are happening in the area of South Street up to Seventh Street and in the area of U.S. 15 to East Street, Cpl. Paul Beliveau said.

Read full story via The Frederick News-Post Online.

The car also hit a cement culvert and caught fire, according to a police press release.

Read full story via Herald-Mail

No one was injured in the crash, which involved two tractor-trailers and a pickup truck,

Read full story via Herald-Mail

The Frederick Board of Aldermen is looking into bringing speed cameras to the city now that a new statewide law has taken effect, allowing the cameras in highway work areas and school zones.

Read full story via NewsChannel 8.