3:30 p.m.
As rescuers spend a grim day recovering the bodies of six children killed in a northeast Baltimore house fire, an 8-year old survivor is being credited with leading her mother and two other siblings out of the overnight inferno.
“The 8-year-old female actually assisted in bringing the 5- and 4-year-old out along with the mother,” said Baltimore Fire Department Captain Roman Clark.
Witnesses said all four walls of the house were in flames and the survivors were already outside before the first 911 calls were made.
Neighbor Robert Spencer described hearing the screams of children inside.
“You couldn’t even get near it. That’s how hard the flames were coming out. It was hard,” Spencer said.
The surviving children told bystanders the fire came from the first floor of the house, according to Spencer.
Investigators said it is far too early to determine what caused the fire. A space heater is one possibility being investigated, according to Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh.
“I understand the father said there was a (smoke detector) there in the house and he said he had recently changed the batteries,” Pugh said.
The children’s father was at work at the time of the 12:30 a.m. fire, according to the mayor.
The mother who survived is Katie Malone, a long-time aide to Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings, according to the Congressman.
“This is an unimaginable tragedy,” Cummings said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family. You can contribute HERE.
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1:30 p.m.
A fire official says the search for bodies is expected to be slow at a fire-ravaged home in northeast Baltimore where six children are presumed dead.
Fire department spokesman Roman Clark said at a news conference Thursday that the children presumed dead are two boys, ages 9 months and 2 years; 3-year-old twin girls; and two girls, ages 10 and 11. He says one body has been found at the home.
Clark says the children's mother and two boys, ages 4 and 5, are in critical condition at a hospital. He says their 8-year-old sister, who helped rescue her younger brothers, may soon be released.
Clark says heavy fire was coming from all three floors of the home when firefighters arrived early Thursday. The third floor collapsed and the second floor partially collapsed.
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11:10 a.m.
A fire official says six children are presumed dead after a fire tore through a northeast Baltimore home.
Fire department spokesman Chief Roman Clark said Thursday that one body has been found at the home and six children from the family who were missing after the fire are presumed dead.
Clark says responding firefighters found heavy fire coming from all three floors of the northeast Baltimore home when they arrived early Thursday.
A woman and three other children were injured. Clark says she and two of the children are in critical condition and the third child is in serious condition.
10:55 a.m.
A neighbor says a fire at a Baltimore home that injured four and left six children missing was a complete inferno.
Fifty-five year-old Michael Johnson lives a block away from the home where the fire broke out early Thursday, injuring a woman and three children. Fire officials say six other children are unaccounted for.
Johnson says fire was coming out of every window and as firefighters sprayed it, "it seemed like the fire was fighting back." He added that he was praying for the people inside. He says it was so intense that he didn't think anyone would survive.
Johnson says he saw a woman come out of the house screaming.
10:30 a.m.
The father of the children who were injured and missing after a fire in Baltimore says one of the children has been released from the hospital.
William Malone told The Associated Press that he not home at the time of the fire early Thursday because he was at work for a restaurant. Malone said one of the three children who were taken to the hospital after the blaze has since been released.
Malone said he had no update on the status of the six children who were missing. Malone said all nine are his children with Katie Malone, a staff member of Rep. Elijah Cummings' district office. William Malone said Katie Malone, who was also injured in the fire, is in stable condition.
William Malone said he is "still in shock" about the fire. He said he does not know what may have caused the fire.
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9:50 a.m.
A Baltimore Congressman says a fire that injured four and left six children missing involved a staffer from his district office and her family.
Rep. Elijah Cummings said in a statement Thursday that Katie Malone has worked as a special assistant in his Catonsville office for nearly 11 years. He says she serves constituents in the areas of immigration, postal services, and the military, including service academy nominations. He says "this unimaginable tragedy is shocking and heartbreaking to us all."
Fire department spokesman Chief Roman Clark says responding firefighters found heavy fire coming from all three floors of the northeast Baltimore home when they arrived early Thursday. He says the woman and two of the children are in critical condition and the third child is in serious condition. He says another six children who live at the home are unaccounted for.
The cause is under investigation.
7:20 a.m.
A fire official says a woman and three children are injured and six more children are unaccounted for after a house fire in northeast Baltimore.
Fire department spokesman Chief Roman Clark says responding firefighters found heavy fire coming from all three floors of the home when they arrived early Thursday.
Clark says a woman and three children escaped the home. He says the woman and two children are in critical condition and the third child is in serious condition. He says another six children who lived at the home are unaccounted for.
Clark says the third floor collapsed and the second floor partially collapsed. He says the blaze is contained, but hasn't been placed under control.
The cause is under investigation, but investigators haven't been able to enter the building.
