BALTIMORE --
City firefighters said six people died in a Tuesday morning rowhouse fire in east Baltimore.
The two-alarm fire occurred just before 5 a.m. in the 2300 block of Homewood Avenue. Crews arrived to find heavy fire conditions in a pair of two-story brick homes.
"When companies arrived, there were very heavy fire and smoke conditions from one dwelling that extended directly into another dwelling," said fire department spokesman Kevin Cartwright.
Firefighters gained entry to perform a rapid attack on the fire, but the conditions began to deteriorate due to Tuesday morning's wind gusts. The fire department commander at the scene ordered an evacuation of all firefighters, who had to battle the blaze outside.
Crews eventually re-entered the dwelling and found the victims, Cartwright said. Their names, ages and relationships haven't been released.
Fire investigators and police arson detectives are performing an investigation into the cause of the fire.
"There's a lot of damage inside, debris throughout," Cartwright said.
It's undetermined at this point whether the home had working smoke alarms.
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