Person injured in Lansdowne fire was child: ‘We were stuck’

Children pull their shirts over their noses to block the stench of smoke hours after a fire ripped through apartments in the 2900 block of Lakebrook Circle in Lansdowne early Sunday morning. Amy Davis/Staff

The person injured in Sunday’s apartment complex fire in Lansdowne was a child, the Baltimore County Fire Department said in an emailed statement.

Demetrice Brown, a resident of the complex on the 2900 block of Lakebrook Circle, said the victim was a 7-year-old who had been visiting her apartment for a sleepover with her 9-year-old son. The fire department said the injury was non-life-threatening, and Brown said it was due to smoke inhalation.

The victim was taken to a hospital, where he is now “speaking and alert,” according to Brown on Monday morning. The fire department did not report any other injuries.

At 5:46 a.m. Sunday, crews responded to Lakeside Homes at Holiday Heights and found fire showing from the second floor with people trapped. At 6:39 a.m., the fire department said it had controlled the fire.

Seven adults and nine children were displaced, and nine dogs and two cats were rescued, the fire department said. Fire officials have not disclosed the extent of the damages.

The department is still investigating the cause of the blaze, but Brown said she believes it started from a stove in a neighbor’s home, spreading to her own unit.

She said the fire entered her living room, where the boys were. Her son went to her room to inform her of the danger. Brown then woke up her 15-year-old daughter, but the flames blocked their exit.

“We were stuck,” Brown said. “It’s very scary being stuck in the house with your kids while a fire is going on, and there were no alarms going off.”

Fire department personnel helped them escape, she said. Brown threw the boys to firefighters, then she and her daughter had to jump over a set of stairs to get free.

Brown’s home was destroyed, and she said Sunday that she’s staying with nearby relatives.

Brown criticized the publicly funded apartment complex Sunday for lack of maintenance to the buildings. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development inspection from April failed the property with a score of 15 out of 100.

Baltimore Sun photographer Amy Davis contributed to this article.