2 dead, 1 seriously injured, 2 dogs killed in Dundalk fire
Two people and two dogs died in a residential fire Tuesday morning in Dundalk, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department.
Another person escaped out a window and was taken to the Johns Hopkins Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Baltimore County Fire spokesperson Elise Armacost said Tuesday morning.
One firefighter had a slight injury, Battalion Chief Jeff Bowen said.
Firefighters responded after a 6:22 a.m. call to 8502 Kavanagh Road, where crews found heavy fire and three people trapped, the fire department said.
Four people lived in the house, including the two who died, the one who was injured and one who’d already left for work, Armacost said. The two residents who survived are being assisted by the Red Cross.
One of the two people who died in the fire was identified as 66-year-old Susan Beth Gibson, the fire department announced Tuesday evening, noting that the second person had not yet been identified. One was found in a stairway and another in an upstairs room. Both were declared dead at the scene.
The fire was under control by 7:41 a.m., according to the department.
Through the morning, crews from Baltimore County Fire and Police departments inspected the scene, as well as neighboring homes. Thelma Reisler, who lives next door and whose living room reeked of smoke, said she heard banging on the neighbor’s door before first responders alerted her to evacuate.
“This morning, I heard all this banging on the door and said, ‘Oh, I’m not getting into it.’ Next thing I know, I hear banging on my door. It was a fireman or a policeman telling me to get out,” Reisler said. “It was an eventful morning, and it will be an eventful few days trying to get this smell out of here. We still have to check to see if we don’t have any more damage.”
Bowen said there was potential smoke damage to four or five neighboring rowhouses.
“The flames were huge. The flames touched the sky,” said Tia Carter from her front porch a few doors down. “My kids have asthma. It’s just scary. I don’t know what to say. I don’t feel safe here with my kids. My whole house smells like smoke now, too. That’s how strong it was.”
The scene was probed by Baltimore County fire and police, as well as investigators, officers and a K9 unit from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Baltimore County Police fire investigators are determining the cause of the fire.