ABERDEEN, Md. — At least one person is dead in a house fire in Aberdeen.
The Maryland State Fire Marshal says they were called to a home on Manor Court around 2 a.m. Thursday. It's not clear what caused the fire.
Several neighbors reported an explosion. A next door neighbor told WMAR-2 News she heard two loud bangs, jumped out of bed, and saw the home on fire next door.
"As of right now, we have no signs that there was actually an explosion. Now, we did get reports that there was an explosion, or two, inside the house. That could be anything from the glass breaking or something inside the home but there was actually no large explosion, as we would typically see with a gas explosion," explained Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire.
There is significant damage to the back side of the home, compared to the front.
"Those are clues we're going to look at. I would agree with your assessment that the fire appears to have started in the back. You know, what I can tell you is that the second flood did collapse down on the first floor so that's really gonna be, make it really difficult for investigators to get in there. It's going to be a very slow meticulous investigation, said Alkire.
#UPDATE - Investigators have confirmed one fatality. Deputy State Fire Marshals are continuing their investigation into the cause. This will be a joint investigation with @Harford_Sheriff. This is standard operating procedure in any fatal fire. https://t.co/vWocTNDjDc
— Maryland State Fire Marshal (@MarylandOSFM) February 17, 2022
During a search of the home, a victim was located within the remains.
The victim was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore to determine the exact cause of death and where the victim will be positively identified.
Deputy State Fire Marshals are working to determine the origin and cause of the fire.