The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As many as 6 children die in Baltimore fire
The bodies of five children were recovered and a sixth child was presumed dead after a fire engulfed a house in northeast Baltimore early Thursday, a fire official said.
A woman and three children escaped the home and were being treated at a hospital, said Chief Roman Clark, a spokesman for the Baltimore Fire Department. He said the children whose bodies had been recovered so far ranged in age from nine months to 11 years.
One of the children in the hospital, an 8-year-old girl, had helped her 4- and 5-yearold siblings flee, he said at a news conference.
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., identified the woman as Katie Malone, who worked in his Catonsville office for nearly 11 years.
“She dutifully serves my constituents in the areas of immigration, postal services and the military,” he said via email.
Cummings told reporters at an event in Baltimore that he had spoken with her family.
“They’re still trying to wrap their arms around this, but we have made clear our office is going to do every single thing in our power” to help them, Cummings said.
Clark said the father of the children was at work at the time of the fire.
Firefighters arrived at the house, located in the Cedmont neighborhood, about 12:30 a.m. and saw the threestory building on fire. He said the third floor had collapsed onto the second, and then the second collapsed on the first.
After the flames were extinguished, the teams brought in an excavator to start a recovery operation and began clearing the debris, using cadaver dogs to help in the search, Clark said.
Clark said the woman and two of the children were in critical condition at the hospital, and the 8-year-old was in serious condition.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, he said.
Brandon M. Scott, a city councilman who represents the area, told the Baltimore Sun, “We are just keeping the family in our thoughts and hoping for a miracle.”