2 fires in Baltimore County lead to 1 dead, 1 apparent injury over weekend
A man died after being injured in a fire early Sunday near Randallstown, hours after another fire in Essex led to an explosion that destroyed a home, Baltimore County fire officials said.
Baltimore County Fire Department crews responded just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday to the residential blaze on the 4200 block of Wards Chapel Road near the Liberty Reservoir in the Randallstown area, said Lt. Travis Francis, a fire department spokesperson.
A woman had called 911 reporting that she was able to escape, though her 38-year-old nephew was still inside the home, which was under “heavy fire conditions,” Francis said at a news conference Sunday.
The man was in cardiac arrest when firefighters found him on the first floor of the residence, and he later died, Francis said. The fire is under investigation.
Another residential fire late Saturday night in Essex led to an explosion that leveled a house.
Fire crews responded at about 11 p.m. Saturday to the blazing home on Crafton Road. Nobody was located at the home during the fire, Francis said, though units later found a man at a nearby residence who investigators believe was injured in the fire.
“If he was in the home or around the home when [the fire] took place is under investigation,” Francis said. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Maryland State Police are helping the fire department investigate the blaze.
On Sunday, neighbors in the small community along the Back River gathered near the scene — and Francis’ briefing — to observe the wreckage and get updates. Some described hearing an explosion that made the ground shake.
Francis said that “quite a few” neighbors reported that they smelled gas that night, and that information had been passed on to investigators. Two neighboring homes were “slightly affected” by melting from heat coming off the blaze, he added.
Hazmat crews also responded to the fire, along with Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. representatives, who were still at the scene Sunday afternoon working on gas lines.
