Autopsy says girl died from smoke and burn injuries.
Taneytown, Md (KM) The Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of a house fire in Taneytown Wednesday afternoon which claimed the life of a two-year-old girl.
Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Bruce Bouch says the fire occurred in the attic area of the home at 130 West Baltimore Street. “The {girl’s} mother had just left the house with the intent of getting her six-year-old son from the bus stop which is just down the street. Upon returning, the four-year-old was still in the house with the two-year-old, met them at the door and left them know there was a fire upstairs,” he says.
Bouch says the mother ran upstairs to get her daughter out, but was driven back by the smoke and heat. She called 911.
“Fire fighters did arrive, had the fire out in less than 30-minutes,” Bouch says. “However, the child had already deceased at that point due the injuries received in the fire.”
The State Fire Marshal’s Office says in a news release that fire fighters found the two-year-old girl unresponsive in her crib. They took her outside to an ambulance, but medics were unable to revive her.
The child’s body was taken to the State Medical Examiner’s Office. “An autopsy was performed, and it was confirmed that the child died from smoke and burn injuries received in the fire,” says Bouch.
He says the home had a smoke alarm on the second floor of the home, but not in the attic where the little girl’s bedroom was located.
Fire fighters and medics from Taneytown, Harney, Union Bridge, Pleasant Valley, Emmitsburg and Littlestown responded to the scene on Wednesday afternoon.
By Kevin McManus