In the second row house fire in Baltimore in two days, an elderly woman and her daughter were hospitalized after their two-story Hampden home went up in flames Monday morning. A man who rescued one of the women was slightly injured.

A spokesman for the Baltimore Fire Department said the fire occurred at about 9 a.m. in the 3300 block of Elm Avenue. A man from the area, who remained unidentified, forced a door open and was able to bring one of the two women out of the brick structure, said the spokesman, Chief Kevin Cartwright.

The man suffered minor burns and lacerations in the process. He and the woman he had helped were taken to Hopkins Bayview Medical Center for treatment. The other woman, rescued by firefighters, was taken to Union Memorial Hospital. Cartwright described both women's condition as serious, while the man's injuries were minor.

The fire also affected an adjacent dwelling that was unoccupied. Cartwright said a building inspector was summoned to the injured women's house because of its poor condition and the "tons of debris" firefighters found inside the structure.

In an earlier incident, a 3-year-old boy died after being overcome by smoke when a two-story row house burned early Sunday in the 2500 block of West Lanvale Street in West Baltimore.

The cause of both conflagrations remains under investigation.

nick.madigan@baltsun.com