Skip to main content

Fatal fire strikes home in Pr. George’s Co.

WASHINGTON — One person has died and three injured in an early morning fire Sunday in Landover, Maryland, officials said. Prince George’s County Fire Department officials said reports of a house fire in the 1500 block of Ballinger Avenue came in around 3:30 a.m. Following a string of recent fire incidents, officials said fire activity typically picks up this time of year, as people start using furnaces and space heaters.

Related Stories

The Prince George’s County Fire Department offers heating safety tips when using space heaters, and other recommendations for fire prevention on their blogspot. Space Heaters

  • Buy only heaters evaluated by a nationally-recognized laboratory.
  • Always unplug your electric space heater when not in use.
  • Never use an extension cord with space heaters. Plug them directly into the wall socket.
  • Space heaters need space — keep flammable objects at least three feet away.

General Heating Tips

  • Keep combustible objects at least three feet away from fireplaces, furnaces and chimneys.
  • Have heating devices such as furnaces and fireplaces checked each year by a professional.
  • Dispose of fireplace ash in a metal container and store outdoors away from structures on a concrete surface. Fireplace ashcan ignite a fire days after disposal.
  • Make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are working properly.

For the full list of tips, read the Prince George’s County Fire Department’s post here. Friday night an elderly man was found dead in a house fire in Oxon Hill. Officials say fire activities typically picks up this time of the year as people start using furnaces and space heaters.

X

To view this content from @PGFDNews on X, click here.

Fentanyl seizures plummet as Trump administration shifts focus to immigration

WASHINGTON — Fentanyl seizures decreased by 39% during the first year of the second Trump administration after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shifted the Department of Homeland Security’s criminal investigations arm to conducting immigration enforcement, according to a report government investigators published Friday.  Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, a subagency of DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reported an “all hands-on deck” environment toward immigration enforcement began in January 2025, according to the DHS Office of Inspector General report. “With ICE dedicating more staff hours to immigration investigations, staffing hours for fentanyl investigations declined,” the report said. The report found that the hours dedicated to fentanyl investigations for fiscal 2025 declined by more than 250,000 hours, or 31%, compared to fiscal 2024.
Read Next Story