Second victim of fatal Dundalk fire identified as 61-year-old woman

Baltimore County officials identified the second woman who died in a rowhome fire nearly two weeks ago in Dundalk.

Baltimore County Police identified the second victim as Leslie Ann Baker, 61, according to a Monday afternoon news release from the Baltimore County Fire Department. The fire department had previously identified the other victim as Beth Susan Gibson, 66.

The women, both residents of the rowhome on the 8500 block of Kavanagh Road, were found by county firefighters responding to a blaze at about 6:22 a.m. Feb. 28. One of the women was found on a stairway and another in an upstairs room, according to the fire department. Both were declared dead at the scene.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined both women died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, with the combination complicating Baker’s lung cancer, according to a Maryland Department of Health spokesperson. The office ruled the manner of the women’s deaths as accidental.

1 of 12

Baltimore County firefighters investigate a fire in the 8500 block of Kavanagh Road in Dundalk where officials say two people died Tuesday morning. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)

Another person was injured after they escaped the fire by jumping out a window. They were taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. A firefighter also suffered minor injuries, and two dogs died in the fire.

A fourth person lived at the home but was not present during the fire that morning. The displaced residents are being assisted by the American Red Cross.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, county fire department spokesperson Elise Armacost said Monday.