1 dead, 2 injured in 3 fires in Southwest Baltimore

One man died and two people were seriously injured in three fires in Southwest Baltimore early Monday morning.

The fires occurred within blocks of each other in the Carrollton Ridge neighborhood, according to the Baltimore City Fire Department.

Firefighters first responded after 1 a.m. to a house fire in the 400 block of Furrow St., Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Skinner said. A woman jumped from a second-story window of the home and was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in critical condition, Skinner said.

Shortly after 3 a.m., another fire was reported at a vacant home two blocks away in the 200 block of S. Bentalou St. When the Fire Department arrived, heavy flames were showing from the third floor of the building, Skinner said.

A man jumped from a third-floor window and was taken to a hospital in serious condition, Skinner said.

The fire was extinguished within 40 minutes, Skinner said.

On a secondary search of the home, firefighters found another man in a back bedroom on the third floor of the house. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Skinner said.

A third fire occurred at about 3 a.m. in the 300 block of S. Bentalou St., Skinner said. The fire began in a one-story vacant bar and spread to an adjacent dwelling. There were no injuries or fatalities in that incident, she said.

All three fires are under investigation, Skinner said.

“We’re trying to determine not just the cause of the fires ... but if they are linked or connected,” Skinner said, “but at this time it’s still at the preliminary stages of the investigation.”