Man Found Dead Inside Canton Rowhome Taken By Fire

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A man is found dead inside a southeast Baltimore rowhome, after a fire rips through the property. It's the latest house fire-related tragedy in the past several weeks.

Investigators are still working to figure out what caused the fire that tore through this home. If its determined the fire was responsible for the man's death, the man would become the 10th fire fatality this month.

Fire investigators say outside of smoke damage, no others homes are in any danger following this fire. Many of course in the Canton community still feeling from the loss of their neighbor.

Dramatic cell phone obtained by WJZ captures the raging inferno that was a southeast Baltimore row home. Flames engulfing the 2 story structure in the 600 block of South Belnord Avenue in Canton.

Firefighters quick to put out late afternoon fire, but only to find someone inside didn't make it out in time. The victim was an unidentified man, investigators believe to be in his 60s.

"I have investigators on the scene going through some of the debris trying to get a cause of the fire," says Baltimore City Fire Chief Roman Clark.

December has seen a number of fatal house fires in the city. Earlier in this month, four children dying in two separate house fires, the losses hard on the community.

Two children died in a fire Clinton Street in East Baltimore earlier this month.

"The whole second floor when up in a blaze, she lost her two babies," says one neighbor on Clinton Street.

Another neighbor calling their deaths "devastating."

There have been nine deaths in December so far. This latest could become the tenth if investigators determined the man who was found in the burning building died from causes related to the fire.

His death would put the total to 16 deaths for the year, compared to 18 in 2015.

"Unfortunately, we cannot really find any type of pattern that has created this situation. It's very unusual, it's not something that normally happens," says Chief Clark.

Fire officials and the Red Cross are working to promote fire safety awareness to prevent any more losses.

"This isn't something that just impacts one family it's a community that feels this kind of loss," says Cyndi Ryan, American Red Cross.

Fire officials are encouraging homeowners to make sure their smoke detectors are in working order.

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