Child dead after early-morning Baltimore house fire

A child is dead after a dwelling fire broke out in Baltimore early Saturday morning, fire officials said.

The fire tore through a rowhome overnight at 543 N. Mosher St., according to a post from the Baltimore City Fire Department.

Fire officials said they were dispatched at 3:27 a.m. to the Upton neighborhood. When they entered the building, they found a minor in cardiac arrest, according to a news release from the fire department.

First responders attempted to initiate “aggressive life-saving measures”, but the child was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the news release said.

The identity of the person was not immediately released. No other injuries were reported.

The mint green rowhome on Mosher Street was in the middle of about a dozen homes on a quiet stretch in Upton. On Saturday afternoon, the windows were shattered and replaced with black plastic. There was insulation, glass and other debris on the ground outside the home.

Irivin Veney, a neighbor who lives just a few houses down from the residence, said he was just getting home when he saw tons of black smoke and fire coming from the third floor. One of the neighbors went door-to-door telling people to wake up and get out of their homes in the middle of the night, he said.

Veney said he watched firefighters take a sledgehammer to the front door and pull out an unresponsive woman moments later. Firefighters continued to battle the blaze after getting the woman out.

A bright, blue house next door had its front door and windows open, but it was not clear if it was extensively damaged. It appeared to be vacant, Veney said.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Fire officials said this is the second fire fatality this year.

Baltimore’s first fire fatality of the year was in later January, when a 65-year-old man died in a Upton rowhouse that went up in flames. The fire came after the major winter storm that was followed by weeks of cold temperatures.

This article has been updated with corrected information from the Baltimore City Fire Department about injuries.