On November 15, at 11:30 a.m., firefighters responded to 21070 Kala Lane in Lexington Park for the structure fire. St. Mary's County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) advised they had received numerous calls indicating it was a working fire. As units were responding Fire Chief 3 (Gould) arrived on scene reporting nothing was evident. Chief Gould and E32 units investigated and found a fire on a third-floor balcony that had been extinguished by the fire sprinklers. Units checked for further damage and for extension and none was found. The incident was then scaled back to hold units from Bay District and NDWFD on the scene and all others returned to service. There were no injuries reported and the damage was contained to the balcony furniture due to the operation of the sprinklers. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) research shows that sprinklers reduce the rate of civilian fire deaths by 87% and injuries by 27%, and they can lower “the risk of property loss by 70%.”