WASHINGTON — A man died after a large fire engulfed a house in Waldorf, Maryland, late Tuesday morning, fire officials said.
The Charles County Fire and EMS Department responded to the house at the corner of Bensville Road and Berry Hills Road shortly after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Fire crews battled heavy flames and triple-digit temperatures to extinguish the flames, said Bill Smith, a public information officer with the fire department.
Once firefighters were able to get inside the two-story house, they found a man lying on the floor of the kitchen, he said.
“They immediately got the person outside,” Smith said. “CPR was initiated on the scene, and the paramedics were unsuccessful and, unfortunately, the individual succumbed to his injuries.”
A total of 58 fire personnel responded to the scene, Smith said, including firefighters from Charles County, Prince George’s County and the Naval District Washington fire departments.
A few firefighters suffered minor heat-related injuries, Smith said.
The temperature outside at the time of the fire was 101 degrees.
“They did an extraordinary job today putting this fire out with all the heat exposure and everything,” he said.
Smith said the entire house was on fire by the time firefighters arrived and he likened the blaze to an “inferno.”
Smith said the house was being rented and the man who was pulled from the burning home was the only one inside at the time. Authorities have not released the name of the man who died.
Fire officials are still investigating where the fire started and what caused it, Smith said.
WTOP’s Dick Uliano and Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
