House Fire

Three people died early Sunday in a house fire in Cumberland, according to the state fire marshal's office. A passerby spotted fire in a two-story, single-family dwelling at around 3 a.m. and called 911, officials said. Officials said that about 20 firefighters from Cumberland and Ridgely, W.Va., extinguished the one-alarm blaze within 20 minutes. The names of the victims were not released. Officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation. Tim.wheeler@baltsun.com Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

An early morning house fire Monday in the city's Hamilton Hills neighborhood left one man seriously injured. City firefighters responded just before 3 a.m. to the 7100 block of McClean Blvd., east of Perring Parkway. They found the two-story town home engulfed in heavy fire and smoke. Firefighters were able to prevent the one-alarm fire from spreading to adjoining homes, officials said. Paramedics treated the injured resident, who was found outside of his home. He suffered first- and second-degree burns to more than 60 percent of his body and was taken to Bayview Burn Center in serious condition.

Firefighters who were tackling a one-alarm house fire in Woodlawn shortly after noon Thursday found a woman dead just inside the front door of the single-family dwelling. Elise Armacost, a spokeswoman for the county fire department, said fire crews who were summoned to the blaze in the 3100 block of Gartside Drive in northwestern Baltimore County came across the woman, who was "deceased from her injuries. " The victim's identity was not immediately released. Fire investigators remained at the scene in early afternoon and had not determined a cause of the fire.

Among the 63 calls the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department received for medical and fire-rescue service during the period April 22-29 were the following: Illinois Avenue, 3000 block, 11:50 p.m. April 28. Crews from the English Consul, Arbutus, Lansdowne and Violetville volunteer stations and Halethorpe career station responded to the report of a dwelling fire in Baltimore Highlands and extinguished a small stove top fire. Furnace Avenue, 5600 block, 7:56 p.m. April 27. Crews responded to the report of a dwelling fire in Elkridge and assisted local units in extinguishing the fire.

Maryland State Police say a woman was found fatally injured in a house fire in Stevensville and that a suspect is in custody. Troopers received a call about 10 a.m. Thursday about a possible assault and fire. Authorities arrived at the house on Oxbow Drive to find it on fire. Magda Scherer, who lived in the house, was found in the main bedroom with blunt force injuries to the back of her head. Scherer, 82, was removed from the house and was pronounced dead. State police say they have a suspect in custody.

Officials are blaming a house fire in Pasadena Tuesday night on a portable space heater being too close to combustible furnishings. Firefighters called to a house in the 800 block of Old Mill Road at 9:06 p.m. arrived seven minutes later to find heavy fire in a second-floor bedroom above a garage, Anne Arundel County Battalion Chief Steve Thompson said. No one was injured in the fire, he said. Twenty-nine firefighters brought the blaze under control by 9:42 p.m. He said it appeared that a portable space heater was too close to a bed and curtain.

Anne Arundel County fire investigators were working to determine the cause of a two-alarm house fire that killed one person Sunday afternoon in Edgewater. The fire at the two-story home in the 800 block of Bayview Drive was reported just after 2:30 p.m., said Division Chief Michael Cox, a county Fire Department spokesman. The first fire unit arrived within seven minutes and saw smoke coming from the second floor, where the fire was believed to have started, Cox said. Firefighters searching the home discovered the body on the second floor, according to Cox. Authorities have not released the person's identity or further details about the victim.

One man is dead after a house fire. It broke out Wednesday night in 1400 West Brower. Neighbors called the fire department around 10 p.m., saying that flames were coming out the back of the house. Crews arrived within minutes and quickly put out the fire. A man his forties was unresponsive in one of the front bedrooms. Crews performed CPR, but it was too late. The victim's name has not been released. The fire marshal is now trying to determine the cause. "We don't know yet whether it had working smoke alarms," said Springfield Fire Chief David Hall.

Baltimore county firefighters responded to a single-alarm fire in a Middleborough row home today, fire officials said. Glenn Bitters, of the county's fire liaison office, said firefighters responded to the Epping Court home, where they found a fire on the second story. Bitters said the fire was quickly extinguished and the four adults believed to reside in the home were unharmed. No other details were available. erica.green@baltsun.com .

The lives of two retired Baltimore educators were remembered by family, friends and former students Wednesday evening on the campus of the college they both attended a half-century ago. The funeral for Donald Ernest Lee Patterson Sr., 77, and Jennye Agnes Thomas-Patterson, 80, was held in Morgan State University's Gilliam Concert Hall. "At the funeral home today, there were numerous former students," said Sharon Green, who attended Greenspring Junior High School in the 1970s when the Pattersons were working at the school.

At least one person was injured Saturday night when a two-alarm fire consumed four rowhouses in Dundalk. Police said a woman was found unconscious but breathing and was taken to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. However, Baltimore County Firefighter Dana Camak said two victims were transported, but the type and extent of their injuries weren't immediately known. Two dogs also died in the blaze, though a third survived. The fire broke out at 5:45 p.m. in one of four rowhouses in the 200 block of St. Helena Avenue.

A 20-year-old Anne Arundel County volunteer firefighter suffered minor injuries Sunday while fighting a blaze at a home in Severna Park. Division Chief Michael Cox said the firefighter, whose name was not given, suffered burns to his ears and neck and was taken to the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayville Medical Center. Firefighters responded at 11:47 a.m. to a house fire in the 300 block of Green Aspen Court in the Shipley's Choice community. On arrival, firefighters saw fire at he rear of the two-story, single-family home, Cox said.

100 Years Ago Visitations Miss Annie Pickett left Saturday for Staunton, Virginia, where she will spend several months. Mr. Edwin HB. Cromwell spent last week in West Virginia and Western Maryland. Mr. Charles Hobbs was in Mt. Airy last week. Mr. Frank Hobbs was in Baltimore Tuesday. And, break out the band, roll out the red carpet, Ellicott City had a treat that week as the Times reported that lo, and behold: "Mr. W. Harvey Davis was in Ellicott City Tuesday.

UPPER MARLBORO — Authorities say a house fire that injured seven Prince George's County firefighters in Riverdale was arson. One firefighter remains hospitalized, in critical but stable condition, after Friday's fire. Kevin O'Toole is expected to stay in the hospital for weeks. Officials said at a news conference Wednesday that the fire was started in the basement of the home.

Two Prince George's County firefighters, who were seriously injured while fighting a house fire in Riverdale, remained in critical but stable condition Sunday, according to their families. Bladensburg volunteer firefighter Ethan Sorrell, 21, remained intubated but was conscious at the Washington Hospital Center's burn unit. He suffered burns to his airway. Kevin O'Toole, 22, also a Bladensburg volunteer firefighter, had burns over 40 percent of his body and was expected to remain in the hospital's burn unit for at least six weeks, according to fire officials, citing O'Toole's father, Jeff.

Seven firefighters were seriously injured in Prince George's County on Friday night when a sudden gust of air, possibly linked to the night's high winds, turned the inside of a house into an inferno, authorities said. Three remained hospitalized Saturday morning — two of them in critical condition, according to authorities. Ethan Sorrell, 21, sustained "burns to his airway" and Kevin O'Toole, 22, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 40 percent of his body, authorities said.

At least one person was injured Saturday night when a two-alarm fire consumed four rowhouses in Dundalk. Police said a woman was found unconscious but breathing and was taken to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. However, Baltimore County Firefighter Dana Camak said two victims were transported, but the type and extent of their injuries weren't immediately known. Two dogs also died in the blaze, though a third survived. The fire broke out at 5:45 p.m. in one of four rowhouses in the 200 block of St. Helena Avenue.

A fire late Tuesday evening extensively damaged a home near Aberdeen. Firefighters responded to the 1100 block of Montreal Drive for a fire in a split level structure, according to Harford County Volunteer Fire and EMS Association spokesman Rich Gardiner. The fire, off Stepney Road west of Aberdeen, was reported about 5:10, as a house fire with rescue, according to Harford County emergency radio dispatches. It took the 30 firefighters who responded 15 minutes to control the blaze, which was discovered by the owner, Jean J. Thompson, according to a notice of investigation from the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Wearing just their T-shirts and underwear, Christina Means and her family escaped from a house fire that struck in the middle of the night. They watched the Rosedale house burn in the cold December air and waited for the firetrucks, wrapped in the one blanket Means had grabbed when the smoke detectors had sounded and her boyfriend had shouted that he saw flames out the window. "We were so scared, we just ran out," Means said. "No shoes, no socks. " In the next 48 hours one thing became clear: All their possessions were burned or water-damaged, and a lapsed renters' insurance policy meant they were going to have to start over.