On March 17th at 0000 hours, Hughesville Volunteers were alerted to St Mary's County in Mechanicsville for the Automatic Fire Alarm (AFA). Immediately after dispatch St Mary's County upgraded the AFA to a Structure Fire. Engine 22 and Tanker 2 responded within seconds of dispatch to the 30000 Block of Gershwin Road in Charlotte Hall.

Engine 22 was first arriving to find a single-family split foyer residence with fire showing from the Alpha, Bravo side, and roof. Tanker 2 arrived seconds later and picked up the supply line to begin nursing Engine 22. The crew from Engine 22 advanced an attack line to Division 1 and began suppression. Mechanicsville Chief 2 arrived on the scene and assumed the command. Mechanicsville Engine 23 arrived a short time later. The crew from Mechanicsville 23 pulled a second attack line while the Engine Driver set up the water supply.

The fire rapidly progressed and evacuation tones were sounded to pull all firefighters from the structure. Units began defensive operations and once the fire was controlled, units began interior operations again. The fire was extinguished within approximately 90 minutes.

During the suppression efforts, Tanker 2, SM Tanker 2, SM Tanker 24, and SM Tanker 74 shuttled water to the fire ground from a nearby hydrant. In all, approximately 15,000 gallons of water were shuttled to the scene to extinguish the fire. Command requested the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office to investigate the cause of the fire. Units operated on the scene for approximately three hours before clearing and returning to quarters.

During the fire, Prince George's County Engine Tanker 836 (Baden) provided a fill-in at our station to ensure our first due area was covered.