WASHINGTON — Two of the victims who died in an Anne Arundel County house fire were trying to save a teenager when they were overcome by smoke and heat, investigators have learned.
Flames broke out in the Brooklyn Park home early Tuesday morning.
Lettitia Sinnah, 39, made it out safely, but she rushed back into the burning home in an effort to save her 17-year old son.
Christopher Rickman, a 45-year old neighbor, also darted into the house. They both fell victim to the smoky conditions.
Firefighters later pulled them from the home, unconscious.
They were taken to hospitals, along with the teenager, Sundima Sinnah, and all three were pronounced dead.
“It’s hard to believe that he’s gone,” said Steven Guzman, Sinnah’s classmate at North County High School.
“My condolences are just with his family.”
Several of Sinnah’s friends gathered around his charred home after they heard the news Tuesday.
“Every day I’d see him going through school making people laugh,” said classmate Brandon Jones.
Sinnah’s father, Samuel Sinnah — a local pastor at United Brethren in Christ Church — survived the fire.
Sinnah’s 20-year old brother also made it out.
According to Anne Arundel County investigators, only one part of the home had working smoke alarms, while an older section did not.
“This tragic incident emphasizes the need for working smoke alarms on all levels of a residence and in every sleeping area,” investigators said in a statement.
“This fire also emphasizes the need for prompt evacuation and to remain outside of a dwelling once evacuated. A fire that may have caused the tragic loss of one life has resulted in the loss of three,” says the statement.
Officials with the county’s Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit are still trying to determine a cause.
The fire caused an estimated $125,000 in damage.
