RAKER, Judge.
George Thomas Wengert was convicted in the District Court of Maryland, sitting in Anne Arundel County, for the offenses of gambling and keeping a place for gambling in violation of Maryland Code (1957, 1996 Repl.Vol., 2000 Supp.) Article 27, § 240. He appealed to the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County and, in a trial de novo, he was again convicted. Wengert challenges the legality of the search and seizure of items taken from his home. In his petition for certiorari he presents a single question: “Where a sole burglar answered the front door of petitioner’s house and could have been taken into custody by police without their entry into petitioner’s home, was evidence seized from the home by police admissible under the protective sweep exception or any other exception to the Fourth Amendment?” We shall answer the question in the affirmative and, accordingly, affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court.
I.
There is no dispute as to the facts of this case. On October 22, 1998, at approximately 10:42 a.m., a neighbor who lived [81]*81behind 311 Edison Street, in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, called the police to report that she had seen a white male enter Petitioner’s house through a partially open rear window.
Anne Arundel County Police Officer Benner was the first officer to respond to the call, arriving at Petitioner’s home at 11:30 a.m. He proceeded to the back of the house, where he saw the partially open window and the window ledge below it with dust marks and smudges. It appeared to him “as if a person had entered or pulled something in or out of the window.” Minutes after Officer Benner arrived, three backup officers joined him — Officers Praley, Mills, and Bishop. Bishop and Benner remained at the rear of the house; Praley and Mills went to the front of the house. Officer Benner called into the house, and a voice from within stated “I’m coming up” or “Yes, I’m coming out.”
Officer Bishop instructed the suspect to go to the front door and admit the officers. A person matching the description given by the neighbor, who turned out to be a burglary suspect named Myers, opened the front door. Officer Praley handcuffed Myers, and the two then sat down on the couch in the living room.
Officers Benner and Bishop entered the house, and Benner and Praley questioned the suspect about his presence there. The suspect claimed that his grandmother owned the home, prompting Benner to look for mail that might verify the suspect’s identity.
While Officer Praley remained on the couch interviewing the suspect, Benner and Bishop looked in the house for other suspects, victims, and residents. They checked the upstairs level, which took about one minute, and then proceeded to the basement, where they saw a stack of money on a television set, a fax machine set up in front of the television set, a sports pager on the floor by the fax machine, and a “pix ticket.”1 [82]*82The officers did not touch or disturb anything in the basement area. While the two officers were downstairs, Officer Praley, who had experience in vice, narcotics, and gambling, saw a paper on the coffee table, which appeared to him to be a tally sheet for record keeping of gambling or drugs.
In Officer Bishop’s opinion, the scene as a whole, and particularly the money and the picks ticket atop the television set, led him to believe that the items were evidence of gambling. He testified that it “all just seemed somewhat out of place that you would have a fax machine there right in front of the TV set, and it looked like it was set up so someone could sit there and watch TV, watch sports, and do all their business in one convenient spot.” Suspecting a gambling operation, Benner and Bishop called Praley to the basement level.2 Praley saw the fax machine, tally sheet, pick slip, and cash; he testified “that this is leading us to believe it’s gambling and I think we should ... stop and call the vice squad.” In fact, that is what they did.
At approximately 11:45 a.m., before the vice squad arrived, Petitioner’s twenty-two-year-old son, Joshua, came home. He declined to give the officers consent to search, preferring to wait until his parents came home. His mother arrived home about fifteen minutes later, and she, too, declined to consent to a search of the house, preferring to wait for her husband to come home. Petitioner arrived home around 12:30 p.m.
Vice Squad Detective Middleton arrived sometime between 11:45 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., looked at the papers on the coffee table, as well as the items in the basement, and recognized the papers as a “tally sheet” and “parlay card” used in gambling operations. Middleton told Petitioner that he suspected a [83]*83gambling operation, and Petitioner and his wife consented to a search of their home.
The police seized approximately $42,000.00 in cash, including the money seen earlier on top of the television and additional amounts found in a closet. The officers also seized other books and papers.
Petitioner filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized from his home. The Circuit Court held a pre-trial evidentiary hearing and denied the motion. The court credited Officer Benner’s testimony that his main objective in looking throughout the home was to secure the premises and to ensure that there were no additional suspects or victims in the home. The court found that, in accord with Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325, 110 S.Ct. 1093, 108 L.Ed.2d 276 (1990), Officer Benner acted reasonably in his initial cursory sweep of Petitioner’s basement, limiting his “sweep” to approximately fifteen to twenty seconds and that, within that time period, he also discovered the cash and sports tip card on the television in the basement. The court found that the police seized the items lawfully under the “plain view” doctrine, fully satisfying the requirements of Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971). As an alternative holding, the court found that the police entry into Petitioner’s home was justified under the police community caretaking function of protecting property, relying on State v. Alexander, 124 Md.App. 258, 721 A.2d 275 (1998). As further justification for the search, the court found that the Wengerts consented to a search of the house. Petitioner filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in this Court, which we granted, and we shall affirm the Circuit Court.
II.
Petitioner contends that the evidence should have been suppressed because the police officers’ initial entry into the house was unlawful. He argues that, even if the initial entry were permissible, the subsequent detailed search of his house was beyond the scope of a protective sweep or any other [84]*84legitimate police function because there was no indication that another suspect was at large, there was no evidence of any weapon, the arrest did not occur inside any residence belonging to the intruder, and there was no need for the police to enter the house to arrest the burglar.
The State counters that the police satisfied the requirements of the Fourth Amendment. The State argues that the police were investigating a crime in progress; they entered Petitioner’s house for the sole purpose of detecting other suspects involved in the burglary or victims and, once lawfully inside, they saw in “plain view” evidence indicating that Petitioner was involved in an illegal gambling operation. They secured the premises until Petitioner arrived home and obtained his voluntary consent to search the home. They seized the items that they had previously seen and, pursuant to Petitioner’s consent, further evidence of gambling.
Our review of the propriety of the trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence is limited to the record developed at the motions hearing. See Tu v. State, 336 Md. 406, 412, 648 A.2d 993, 996 (1994). In determining whether the police officers’ conduct was reasonable, we consider only those relevant facts produced at the suppression hearing that are most favorable to the State as the prevailing party on the motion. See Riddick v. State, 319 Md. 180, 183, 571 A.2d 1239, 1240-41 (1990). Although we make our own independent appraisal of whether a constitutional right has been violated, we will not disturb the trial court’s factual findings unless those findings are clearly erroneous. See Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 697-99, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1662-63, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996); Riddick, 319 Md. at 183, 571 A.2d at 1240.
III.
The Fourth Amendment prohibits only those searches and seizures that are unreasonable. See Florida v. Jimeno, 500 U.S. 248, 250, 111 S.Ct. 1801, 1803, 114 L.Ed.2d 297 (1991); Carroll v. State, 335 Md. 723, 729, 646 A.2d 376, 379 (1994); McMillian v. State, 325 Md. 272, 281, 600 A.2d 430, [85]*85434 (1992). The Supreme Court has recognized that a warrantless search and seizure does not violate the Fourth Amendment when law enforcement officers are faced with exigent circumstances such that there is a “compelling need for official action and no time to secure a warrant.” Michigan v. Tyler, 436 U.S. 499, 509, 98 S.Ct. 1942, 1949, 56 L.Ed.2d 486 (1978) (burning building). See Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 2413, 57 L.Ed.2d 290 (1978) (emergency aid); United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 42-43, 96 S.Ct. 2406, 2409-10, 49 L.Ed.2d 300 (1976) (hot pursuit); Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 298, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 1645-46, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967) (hot pursuit and danger to human life); Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 770-71, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 1835-36, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966) (imminent destruction of evanescent evidence); Ker v. California, 374 U.S. 23, 37-41, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 1632-34, 10 L.Ed.2d 726 (1963) (destruction of evidence).
Exigent circumstances are “those in which a substantial risk of harm to the persons involved or to the law enforcement process would arise if the police were to delay a search until a warrant could be obtained.” United States v. Robertson, 606 F.2d 853, 859 (9th Cir.1979). We have noted that “[t]he meaning of exigency implies urgency, immediacy, and compelling need.” Stackhouse v. State, 298 Md. 203, 212, 468 A.2d 333, 338 (1983). The burden is on the State to establish exigent circumstances that overcome the presumptive unreasonableness that attaches to all warrantless entries of the home. See Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740, 750, 104 S.Ct. 2091, 2098, 80 L.Ed.2d 732 (1984); McMillian, 325 Md. at 281, 600 A.2d at 434.
A burglary in progress is an exigent circumstance that justifies a warrantless entry of a residence.3 See Carroll, 335 Md. at 734, 646 A.2d at 382; S. Estrella, Annot., Warrant-[86]*86less Search — Burglary, 64 A.L.R. 5th 637 (1998). In this case, the officers entered Petitioner’s residence to investigate a burglary in progress. Therefore, the entry was lawful based on exigent circumstances.
In Carroll, we held that “when law enforcement officers have probable cause to believe that a burglary is either in progress or recently has been committed, the exigencies of the situation permit the officers to enter the premises without a warrant to search for intruders and to protect an occupant’s property.” Carroll, 335 Md. at 734, 646 A.2d at 382. We pointed out that “the responsibility of the police to investigate burglaries must be balanced against the serious invasions of privacy such entries and searches entail.” Id. The justification for the warrantless entry is to look for suspects, to preserve an individual’s property, or to ensure the safety of the residents; it is not to enter under a pretext to search for contraband or to investigate illegal activity. See id.
A warrantless search must be “strictly circumscribed by the exigencies which justify its initiation.” Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 26, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1882, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). See Carroll, 335 Md. at 735, 646 A.2d at 382. The scope of the search must be strictly tied to and justified by the circumstances that rendered its initiation permissible. See Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 762, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 2039-40, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969) (quoting Terry, 392 U.S. at 19, 88 S.Ct. at 1879, 20 L.Ed.2d 889); Ricks v. State, 322 Md. 183, 188, 586 A.2d 740, 743 (1991). We pointed out in Carroll that “the scope of the limited warrantless intrusion we condone today must not exceed that justified by the exigencies presented.” Carroll, 335 Md. at 735, 646 A.2d at 382. “Thus, when acting on the reasonable belief that a burglary is in progress or has recently been committed, law enforcement officers may not deviate from the original purposes of their search.” Id.
In determining the reasonableness of the officers’ conduct, we consider the facts as they appeared to the officers at the time of their entry. See id. at 735, 646 A.2d at 382. The officers were responding to a burglary-in-progress call. [87]*87Their concerns as to other possible suspects or the safety of the residents were not eliminated when the suspect responded to their call and answered the front door. It was reasonable for the officers to enter the house for the safety of the residents and to investigate whether there were additional suspects or victims in the house.
Petitioner claims that, even if the officers’ initial entry and sweep was justified, once they had completed their sweep of the basement, any justification for their entry had ended. He argues that the entry of the vice squad and that of Officers Praley, Little, and Middleton into the basement was a second search because they were not called downstairs to look for suspects, and there was no longer any need for a protective sweep. He further argues that Bishop, Benner, and Praley were unaware of the significance of the items that they saw, and “hence, no probable cause arose out of their viewing.” Petitioner concludes that it was only through the continued searching by officers with expertise in vice that the items were deemed evidence of gambling. As such, the incriminating nature of the evidence was not “immediately apparent” to the officers participating in the initial sweep and should have been suppressed.
The State argues that the officers merely entered the home to arrest the intruder and to search for other suspects and victims, and they came upon evidence in “plain view,” causing them to secure the premises. Rather than obtain a warrant, although they could have done so, they obtained consent to search from the property owners.
The Supreme Court recognized in Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 465, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 2037, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971), that, in certain circumstances, a warrantless seizure of items come upon by the police in “plain view” during a lawful search of a home may be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. See Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128, 133-37, 110 S.Ct. 2301, 2306-07, 110 L.Ed.2d 112 (1990); Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 323, 107 S.Ct. 1149, 1151, 94 L.Ed.2d 347 (1987). The Court has made clear that “[t]he plain-view doctrine is [88]*88grounded on the proposition that once police are lawfully in a position to observe an item first-hand, its owner’s privacy interest in that item is lost; the owner may retain the incidents of title and possession but not privacy.” Illinois v. Andreas, 463 U.S. 765, 771, 103 S.Ct. 3319, 3324, 77 L.Ed.2d 1003 (1983).
In Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 587, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1380, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980), the Supreme Court noted that “[t]he seizure of property in plain view involves no invasion of privacy and is presumptively reasonable, assuming that there is probable cause to associate the property with criminal activity.” Police officers may seize incriminating evidence in “plain view” during the course of a lawful search because such a seizure “does not involve an intrusion on privacy. If the interest in privacy has been invaded, the violation must have occurred before the object came into plain view.” Horton, 496 U.S. at 141, 110 S.Ct. at 2310, 110 L.Ed.2d 112 (footnote omitted). The justification for the doctrine is “the desirability of sparing police, whose viewing of the object in the course of a lawful search is as legitimate as it would have been in a public place, the inconvenience and the risk to themselves or to preservation of the evidence of going to obtain a warrant.” Hicks, 480 U.S. at 327, 107 S.Ct. at 1153, 94 L.Ed.2d 347. Also, the doctrine “reflects the fact that requiring police to obtain a warrant once they have obtained a first-hand perception of contraband, stolen property, or incriminating evidence generally would be a ‘needless inconvenience’ that might involve danger to the police and public.” Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730, 739, 103 S.Ct. 1535, 1541, 75 L.Ed.2d 502 (1983) (internal citation omitted).
To invoke the “plain view” doctrine of the Fourth Amendment, the police must satisfy the following requirements: (1) the police officer’s initial intrusion must be lawful or the officer must otherwise properly be in a position from which he or she can view a particular area; (2) the incriminating character of the evidence must be “immediately appár[89]*89ent;” and (3) the officer must have a lawful right of access to the object itself. See Horton, 496 U.S. at 136-37, 110 S.Ct. at 2308, 110 L.Ed.2d 112.4
The requirement that an object’s incriminating nature be “immediately apparent” ensures that the “plain view” doctrine is not used to engage in “a general exploratory search from one object to another until something incriminating at last emerges.” Coolidge, 403 U.S. at 466, 91 S.Ct. at 2038, 29 L.Ed.2d 564. “Immediately apparent,” however, does not mean that the officer must be nearly certain as to the criminal nature of the item. See Brown, 460 U.S. at 741-42, 103 S.Ct. at 1543, 75 L.Ed.2d 502. Instead, “immediately apparent” means that an officer must have probable cause to associate the object with criminal activity. See Hicks, 480 U.S. at 326, 107 S.Ct. at 1153, 94 L.Ed.2d 347; Riddick, 319 Md. at 193-95, 571 A.2d at 1245-46; State v. Wilson, 279 Md. 189, 195, 367 A.2d 1223 (1977).
[90]*90Probable cause is a “non-technical conception of a reasonable ground for belief of guilt, requiring less evidence for such belief than would justify conviction but more evidence than that which would arouse a mere suspicion.” Doering v. State, 313 Md. 384, 403, 545 A.2d 1281, 1290 (1988). The Supreme Court defined probable cause in Brown, 460 U.S. at 742, 103 S.Ct. at 1543, 75 L.Ed.2d 502, as follows:
[PJrobable cause is a flexible, common-sense standard. It merely requires that the facts available to the officer would “warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief,” Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 162 [45 S.Ct. 280, 288, 69 L.Ed. 543] (1925), that certain items may be contraband or stolen property or useful as evidence of a crime; it does not demand any showing that such a belief be correct or more likely true than false. A “practical, nontechnical” probability that incriminating evidence is involved is all that is required. Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 176 [69 S.Ct. 1302, 1311, 93 L.Ed. 1879] (1949).
As the name implies, we deal with probabilities. Probable cause is to be determined based upon evaluation of “facts, viewed from the standpoint of an objectively reasonable police officer,” Ornelas, 517 U.S. at 696, 116 S.Ct. at 1661-62, 134 L.Ed.2d 911, and “not on the officer’s actual state of mind at the time the challenged action was taken.” Maryland v. Macon, 472 U.S. 463, 470-71, 105 S.Ct. 2778, 2783, 86 L.Ed.2d 370 (1985). Therefore, the probable cause test is an objective one.
Applying these principles, we conclude that the three requirements to invoke' the “plain view” doctrine were satisfied.5 The police were lawfully present in Petitioner’s home based on exigent circumstances and were entitled to make a [91]*91cursory search for accomplices or victims. The items that they seized were immediately apparent to the officers as evidence of a gambling operation. In other words, the police had probable cause to believe that the items they had seen were evidence of crime. Finally, the police had a lawful right of access to the items that they seized, i.e., they discovered the objects while acting within the bounds of the search justified by the exigent circumstances.
We turn first to the document on the coffee table in the living room. Officer Praley saw the document in “plain view.” He had been a police officer with the Anne Arundel Police Department for thirteen years and had served as a narcotics officer for a year and a half. He has had training in gambling investigations, had executed search warrants with the vice and narcotics units, and has had specific training in “what to look for, what documents should be captured, what documents should be pointed out to the vice detectives.” He testified that he had “also taken action with locating targets in bars that pass out pick sheets, items such as that.” Within two or three minutes after he had advised Myers, the burglary suspect, of his Miranda rights, Officer Praley observed on the coffee table the document with names, figures and numbers on it and appearing to him to be a tally sheet.6 It is unreasonable to require Praley to leave the house immediately after [92]*92arresting the suspect. Indeed, on cross-examination, Praley testified that he waited to hear from the other officers, after they completed their search, that there were no additional suspects or victims. While not participating directly in the search for additional intruders, suspects, or in order to protect the occupant’s property, he had lawful access to the document on the table.
Petitioner argues that a brief visual sweep of the house does not include reading documents and thus, Officer Praley did not have probable cause to seize the document. Petitioner is wrong. Hicks makes clear that “merely looking at what is already exposed to view, without disturbing it — is not a ‘search’ for Fourth Amendment purposes, and therefore does not even require reasonable suspicion.” Hicks, 480 U.S. at 328, 107 S.Ct. at 1154, 94 L.Ed.2d 347 The unlawful activity in Hicks was not the reading and recording of the serial numbers on the stereo equipment, but rather the moving of the stereo equipment without probable cause to believe that it was stolen. Here, Officer Praley merely read that which was in plain sight. Officer Praley’s training and experience made it immediately apparent to him that he was viewing evidence of crime.
We next consider the objects in the basement. We conclude that these items were in “plain view.” Officer Bishop had been a police officer with the Anne Arundel County Police Department for approximately twenty years and, during that time, he had specialized training in gambling operations. He' served in the patrol division, narcotics division and special operations. While in special operations, he participated in the execution of gambling search warrants and received briefings on items like tally sheets and sports paraphernalia. He entered the residence under exigent circumstances and, in the course of looking for suspects or victims, he discovered items that, based on his experience and training, were “immediately apparent” as evidence of criminal activity. He, thus, had a lawful right of access to the evidence.
[93]*93Petitioner’s final argument is that the subsequent warrant-less entry of Detective Middleton and the vice squad was an illegal entry not justified by exigent circumstances, since the emergency had abated and the premises had been secured. We interpret his argument to be that the vice squad officers needed a warrant to enter Petitioner’s house and take charge of the seizure.
We conclude that, when law enforcement officers enter a residence in response to exigent circumstances and, during the course of responding to the exigency, come upon evidence in “plain view,” but do not immediately take it into custody, a subsequent entry shortly thereafter by officers who arrive to assist in the evidence processing and seizure constitutes a mere continuation of the initial entry and does not require a warrant.7
In Lebedun v. State, 283 Md. 257, 390 A.2d 64 (1978), Judge Smith, writing for the Court, reviewed a variety of circumstances supporting a warrantless entry under the emergency or exigency doctrine. The primary issue before the Court was whether items seized by police from Lebedun’s motel room, linking Lebedun to robberies of several pharmacies, was admissible in evidence. The police had entered Lebedun’s motel room, without a warrant, pursuant to a call from the fire department rescue squad, which was responding to a “possible drug overdose” call from the motel.
In holding that the entry and search were lawful, we quoted liberally from United States v. Green, 474 F.2d 1385 (5th Cir.1973). In Green, while investigating the cause of a fire, [94]*94the fire marshal discovered copper plates used for counterfeiting. He called a Secret Service agent, who came to the scene immediately and took custody of the evidence without a warrant. In upholding the seizure, the court stated:
Once the privacy of a dwelling has been lawfully invaded, to require a second officer from another law enforcement agency arriving on the scene of a valid seizure to secure a warrant before he enters the premises to confirm that the seized evidence is contraband and to take custody of it is just as senseless as requiring an officer to interrupt a lawful search to stop and procure a warrant for evidence he has already inadvertently found and seized.
Id. at 1390.
Almost every court that has considered this issue has held 'that a warrant is not necessary because the accused no longer enjoyed a reasonable expectation of privacy in the area where one officer is lawfully present. See United States v. Brand, 556 F.2d 1312, 1317 (5th Cir.1977); Steigler v. Anderson, 496 F.2d 793, 797-98 (3rd Cir.1974); United States v. Green, 474 F.2d 1385, 1390 (5th Cir.1973); United States v. Herndon, 390 F.Supp. 1017, 1021-22 (S.D.Fla.1975); Mazen v. Seidel, 189 Ariz. 195, 940 P.2d 923, 927-28 (1997); Wofford v. State, 330 Ark. 8, 952 S.W.2d 646, 653-54 (1997); People v. Glance, 209 Cal.App.3d 836, 845-46, 257 Cal.Rptr. 522 (1989); People v. Reynolds, 672 P.2d 529, 533 (Colo.1983); State v. Eady, 249 Conn. 431, 733 A.2d 112, 120 (1999); State v. Magnano, 204 Conn. 259, 528 A.2d 760, 764-66 (1987); Hazelwood v. Commonwealth, 8 S.W.3d 886, 887 (Ky.Ct.App.1999); Taylor v. State, 733 So.2d 251, 256 (Miss.1999); Commonwealth v. Person, 385 Pa.Super. 197, 560 A.2d 761, 765-66 (1989); Jones v. Commonwealth, 29 Va.App. 363, 512 S.E.2d 165, 168 (1999); State v. Bell, 108 Wash.2d 193, 737 P.2d 254, 259 (1987); La Fournier v. State, 91 Wis.2d 61, 280 N.W.2d 746, 750 (1979); see also T. Kruk, Annot., Warrantless Search-Fire Investigation, 31 A.L.R.4th 194, 219 (1984). But see United States v. Hoffman, 607 F.2d 280, 284-85 (9th Cir.1979).
In State v. Bell, 108 Wash.2d 193, 737 P.2d 254 (1987), the Supreme Court of Washington considered whether a deputy [95]*95sheriff and a deputy prosecutor needed a warrant to enter defendant’s home and seize marijuana discovered earlier by firefighters who had been summoned to the scene of a fire. The court held:
Once the privacy of the residence has been lawfully invaded, it is senseless to require a warrant for others to enter and complete what those already on the scene would be justified in doing. We hold that where firefighters have lawfully discovered evidence of criminal activity under the plain view doctrine, it is not necessary for sheriffs officers to obtain a warrant before entering a residence to seize the evidence.
There are, of course, limits on the actions of the police. When the police enter the residence, they are not allowed to exceed the scope of the firefighters’ earlier intrusion. In essence, they step into the shoes of the firefighters. They cannot enter any area that the firefighters were not justified in entering, nor seize any evidence that the firefighters were not justified in seizing.
Bell, 737 P.2d at 259 (internal citations and footnote omitted).
The Supreme Court of Connecticut, in State v. Magnano, 204 Conn. 259, 528 A.2d 760 (1987), considered whether the Fourth Amendment required the police to obtain a search warrant before they could enter a home to process evidence otherwise admissible under the “plain view” doctrine. The court held as follows:
[W]hen a law enforcement officer enters private premises in response to a call for help, and during the course of responding to the emergency observes but does not take into custody evidence in plain view, a subsequent entry shortly thereafter, by detectives whose duty it is to process evidence, constitutes a mere continuation of the original entry. Under such circumstances, it is permissible for the detectives to photograph and take measurements, without a search warrant, of evidence which was in the plain view of the initial responding officers. This conclusion is in conformity with decisions in other jurisdictions which have considered the issue, furthers the goal of effective law [96]*96enforcement, and promotes the rationale and purposes of the plain view doctrine.
Magnano, 528 A.2d at 764. The court pointed out that the defendant could not be heard to complain that her privacy-interests were invaded by the second entry because, “as the United States Supreme Court stated in Illinois v. Andreas, 463 U.S. 765, 772, 103 S.Ct. 3319, 3324, 77 L.Ed.2d 1003 (1983), ‘[t]he plain view doctrine is grounded on the proposition that once police are lawfully in a position to observe an item first-hand, its owner’s privacy interest in that item is lost; the owner may retain the incidents of title and possession but not privacy.’ ” Id. at 766.
We align ourselves with the overwhelming majority view across the country. We hold that the evidence in the instant ease, which had been observed in “plain view” by the Anne Arundel uniform police officers inside the home while acting under exigent circumstances, and which had been seized by the police, was properly seized without a warrant.8 Officer Praley and Officer Bishop could have seized the evidence when they came upon it in “plain view.” That they summoned other officers to view and to seize the evidence did not require a warrant.
We turn now to the issue of consent. Petitioner’s sole argument as to consent was that, because the initial search was illegal, his consent was tainted and did not cure the inadmissibility. Because we hold that the initial search was lawful, there was no fruit of any poisonous tree. All of the items were lawfully seized. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County.
JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY AFFIRMED; COSTS TO BE PAID BY PETITIONER.