Apartment blaze kills three

The Baltimore Sun

Three members of a family - two of them children - were killed after a blaze swept through a Baltimore apartment complex early yesterday morning.

The deadly fire, which witnesses said began before 3 a.m. in one unit and quickly spread throughout the small apartment building at 1903 N. Forest Park Ave. in Franklintown, also displaced about a dozen other families.

The victims were found by firefighters in a basement apartment and identified by a family member as Raheem Muhammad, 28, and her son, Royelle Riley, whose 10th birthday would have been today. Muhammad's niece, 7-year-old Markia Summerfield, also was killed, according to the family. The Fire Department confirmed the identities of the victims.

Muhammad's fiance, Roy Riley, and her daughter, Messiah Muhammad, escaped through a window during what witnesses described as a chaotic rescue attempt thwarted by the growing flames and thick smoke.

Gladys Ward, Roy Riley's mother, said in a telephone interview that her son and his family had moved into the home just two weeks ago. They were asleep when a group of men kicked in a bedroom window and pulled the survivors to safety. But the heavy smoke blocked further rescue efforts, she said.

"It was so black in there, they couldn't find the rest of them," Ward said.

The fire happened less than two months after a fast-moving blaze in an East Baltimore-Midway neighborhood rowhouse killed eight people, five of them children. Two others were seriously injured in the May 22 fire, which city officials said was likely caused by careless smoking.

Nearly a dozen families were displaced in yesterday's fire. Several said they escaped by jumping from the two-story building's balconies. A firefighter was treated at a local hospital after twisting his ankle while battling the two-alarm blaze.

Authorities were investigating the cause of yesterday's fire. Fire officials said there was no working smoke detector in the apartment where the three people died. Only three of the 12 units had a smoke detector; of those, two were working. Residents said they were roused by neighbors.

"It's senseless for people to lose their lives in these house fires because of a lack of a smoke detector," said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a spokesman for the city Fire Department, which provides free smoke alarms to city residents.

Among those who escaped was Porsha Crafton, 10, who stood outside her grandmother's condemned apartment yesterday eating a Popsicle. Witnesses said the fire appeared to have started in Riley and Muhammad's apartment but spread rapidly, bursting into an inferno with a loud bang.

"As soon as we got outside, it blew up," Porsha said.

Residents of the complex lingered outside as building supervisor Tony Matthews worked to clear some of the debris. A tangled pile of window frames, pieces of destroyed wooden porches and residents' possessions lay outside the building. A steady stream of water from a broken pipe spilled out of a second-story window.

Roy Riley was seen outside the building, looking through the broken window of his charred apartment. He left the scene with his hands clasped on top of his head.

Inside Riley and Muhammad's apartment were an overturned mattress and a small red plastic child's chair. On a dresser was a television - which appeared to be partially melted - with stuffed animals scattered around the room.

City officials were working to find housing for the displaced residents. A city bus was brought for shelter at first, while city and Red Cross staffers worked to find accommodations.

Etta Crafton, 55, Porsha's grandmother, was taken to the hospital because of chest pains she experienced after jumping from her first-floor balcony.

"My heart started racing, just thinking about those poor children," she said.

She was treated and released, returning yesterday to her apartment, which was largely spared despite the heavy damage to surrounding apartments.

Justin.fenton@baltsun.com

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