Man Dies After District Heights House Fire: Officials

DISTRICT HEIGHTS, MD — Officials said a man died July 25 after a District Heights fire. An incident report identified the victim as 67-year-old Winfred Edward Williams, who lived in the burned house.

Crews noted that they arrived to the 1900 block Brewton Street around 10:11 p.m. Firefighters added that they found smoke and flames coming from the two-story, single-family home.

A neighbor told first responders that Williams may still be inside, the write-up explained. Firefighters searched for Williams while battling the blaze, the press release clarified.

Crews informed that they found Williams at 10:24 p.m. and tried to save his life, but they pronounced him dead. An autopsy will determine the cause of Williams' death, authorities detailed.

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The Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department indicated that it extinguished the flames and found no other victims. The agency mentioned that two firefighters went to unnamed hospitals, but they have since been discharged.

The blaze caused $75,000 in damage, investigators estimated. Fire officials don't know what caused the flames. They wrote that a joint investigation between the Office of the Fire Marshal and the Prince George's County Police Department is underway.

Authorities clarified that smoke detectors were present and that they sounded properly. Crews reported that they returned to town soon after to advertise the importance of the alarms. The department announced that it knocked on more than 135 doors, checked 60 homes, replaced 13 detectors and swapped four batteries.

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