A Thursday night fire at a home in Essex sent three people to local hospitals, according to Baltimore County fire officials. The blaze started in the basement of a rowhouse in the 600 block of Middlesex Road shortly before midnight, a Fire Department spokesman said. The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes. Fire officials said two of the home's occupants were taken to the burn center at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, and another person was taken to Franklin Square Hospital Center. No information was immediately available on their identities or condition. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

- Brent Jones