EDGEWOOD, MD—Crews responded to a house fire in the Edgewood area on Wednesday afternoon.

At around 2:45 p.m. on January 24, units responded to a house fire in the 3100-block of Sounding Drive.

The occupants weren’t home at the time of the fire and it took 20 firefighters about five minutes to control the blaze.

The Office of the State Fire Marshal says that the fire was caused by heating pads that overheated in a chicken coop located at the rear of the home.

Investigators credit a neighbor with quickly calling 9-1-1, and then releasing the chickens, as well as the quick response of the Abingdon Fire Company and containing the fire to the chicken coop and the exterior of the home.

Photo via Office of the State Fire Marshal