2 Killed, 2 Hurt In West Baltimore House Fire
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—Two people are dead and two others are injured after a home erupted into a ball of fire on North Pulaski Street.
Rochelle Ritchie spoke with witnesses who say they heard a loud boom right before the home quickly lit up.
The home burned so rapidly that those who tried to rescue the people inside were forced to retreat from the intense heat of the blames.
Tragedy struck on North Pulaski Street after a home exploded into an inferno late Saturday night.
"Flames just shot out the front door," said Nathaniel Tucker, witness.
It was around 11:30 p.m. Saturday when witnesses say they heard a startling noise.
"We walked from the store around here on Herbert Street to our house. Next thing I know, before I turned the key I heard the 'boom!'" one witness said.
"You hear a loud 'boom!' like a bomb, and that's when I think the windows busted out," said Rodney White, neighbor.
Within minutes, the home was lit up like a bonfire.
Two people made it out of the home on their own. Sadly, the others did not.
"Members went inside and retrieved two victims, who were treated on the scene and transported to the hospital in critical condition; one of whom passed away at the hospital," said Ian Brennan, Baltimore City Fire.
Another person died in the flames.
Witnesses say the home was a ball of flames, and several people tried to get inside the home to get the four people out, but the door knob to the second door inside the home was too hot.
"They tried to go in there but they couldn't get in the house 'cause the fire was so hot you could feel it down the street," White said.
This blaze is just one of many fatal fires in Baltimore City in a week.
"Depending on the ME's report, if all the fires are determined to be fire-related, that would be six. And that's a tremendous amount of tragedy for these neighborhoods and the city," Brennan said.
Friends are left to wonder how the home could burn so quickly.
"I'd like to know. I don't know what. I've come here plenty of times and I can't figure out what happened," said Mark Stem, friend.
All of the victims in this fire were adult males. Their names have not been released.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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