Two firefighters were injured battling a house fire in West Baltimore last night.

The fire, reported about 7:15 p.m. in the basement of a rowhouse in the 2800 block of W. Lafayette Ave., caused "silver-dollar-size burns" to two firefighters, who were treated at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center's burn unit, said Chief Kevin Cartwright, a Fire Department spokesman.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Shortly after the fire, five residents of a house three doors away complained of breathing problems, the apparent result of fumes from a defective furnace in their house, a fire official said.

One person who has asthma was treated at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.