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Home Destroyed In Fatal Sykesville Fire Had No Working Smoke Detectors, Officials Say

SYKESVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- A Sykesville home that went up in flames Thursday leaving two people dead did not have working smoke detectors, fire officials said Friday.

The two-alarm fire broke out in the historic two-story home in the 900 block of Raincliffe Road around 9 p.m. Thursday. Crews from three counties worked to put out the flames.

Firefighters found two bodies, a man and a woman, inside the home.

Investigators said multiple portable heaters were in use in the home at the time of the fire.

"They had no working smoke alarms which probably attributes to the extent of the fire and how fast it spread, their inability to get out," a fire department spokesperson said.

Neighbor Leigh Bolton said it all happened quite fast.

"Boom, everything just went up in flames," she said. "It was so quick, it was so fast, it was so hot."

Bolton said she left her home out of fear the fire would spread to her home nearby.

The medical examiner's office has not yet identified the victims.

Investigators said they do not believe foul play or arson were involved in the blaze.

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