Pre-Dawn Blaze Kills Three In Derwood

(Gaithersburg) - Fire investigators are listing as "undetermined" the cause of an early morning fire that took the life of a 35 year old Derwood woman and her two children, a boy 5 years old and a girl, 23 months, Sunday, January 5th. The woman's 30 year old husband was critically injured. Investigators also report the lone smoke detector in the home was not working.

GWGVFD Engine 281, whose quarters are just a few blocks away from the two-story townhouse at 7211 Millcrest Terrace, reported "fire showing" from the front when they arrived on the scene at about 6:20 a.m. Firefighters quickly entered the basement of the home and rescued four people, but they were unable revive three of them. They were pronounced dead shortly after they arrived at the hospital.

Three other adults and two other children, who were in the top portion of the townhouse, escaped out a rear window. They were taken to a hospital for evaluation but their injuries were not reported to be serious.

Though they haven't pinned down a specific cause, investigators believe the fire had been burning for some time. They say there was only one smoke detector in the home and it was, apparently, not working. Had it been, the occupants may have been alerted to the fire danger far earlier.

The fire was under control within 30 minutes and extinguished within an hour. Townhouses on either side of 7211 suffered smoke damage.