Maryland House Fire Kills Family of 5

ABINGDON, Md. – A fast-moving house fire killed five people, including an infant girl, and left their home a blackened shell Thursday.

The victims were believed to be members of the same family. Four were found immediately, and a fifth was found in the ruins of the second floor Thursday night, Deputy State Fire Marshal W. Faron Taylor said.

A passing garbage truck driver reported the fire shortly before 10:30 a.m.

Sheriff’s deputies arrived first and pulled a 72-year-old man from the burning first floor of the wood-frame house in Abingdon, about 30 miles northeast of Baltimore. Jerome Shropshire died at a hospital, Deputy State Fire Marshal Faron Taylor said.

The other victims were a woman in her 60s, an 8-month-old girl and two boys ages 3 and 4, authorities said.

Fire investigators were trying to determine the cause of the blaze. There was no evidence the home had working smoke detectors, Taylor said.