Basement fire knocked down in Prince George's County home, no injuries reported

Prince George’s County Fire and EMS knocked down a basement fire in a two-story single-family home on the 6000 block of 37th Ave. in Hyattsville, and no injuries were reported. Investigators are still probing what started the blaze.

The home at 6000 37th Ave., Hyattsville, MD 20782 is listed in real-estate records as a 1,365-square-foot brick house built in 1949. The property sold for $425,000 in May 2022, according to those records.

Even without injuries, a basement fire can force a fast and disruptive response in a county where fire calls are part of daily life. Prince George’s County Fire and EMS says it responds to more than 400 incidents a day, totaling more than 157,000 incidents a year, and about 75% of those calls are for EMS service. The department handles about 200 structure fires annually, a reminder that house fires are relatively common, but still capable of threatening homes, displacing families and tying up emergency resources.

The same 37th Avenue corridor has seen a similar fire before. In February 2016, a basement fire in the 5700 block of 37th Ave. began in a single-family home converted into apartments, spread to the upper floors, displaced five adults and sent one firefighter to the hospital with an ankle injury. That fire was also under investigation.

Hyattsville’s long-running fire service network is part of the response fabric in this area. The Hyattsville Volunteer Fire Department, established in 1888, serves the City of Hyattsville, the Town of University Park and nearby corridors, including neighborhoods where older homes and basement spaces can present added fire risk if ignition starts below ground level.