Lizard Perished, Owner Injured In Essex House Fire: Official

ESSEX, MD — A 90-year-old woman and three police officers were hospitalized after a house fire in Essex Tuesday night, the Baltimore County Fire Department reported. While the officers were later released from the hospital, the woman remains hospitalized Wednesday at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, officials said.

The fire was ruled an accident. A heat lamp that had been used to warm a pet lizard in a first-floor bedroom fell over and ignited, fire investigators determined.

Officers from the Baltimore County Police Department were first at the scene of the fire in the unit block of Russell Frost Court. Upon arriving at 8:05 p.m. on Tuesday, they found the woman outside the residence and went inside to try to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher. Soon after, they evacuated and waited for firefighters.

Authorities said firefighters were dispatched to the call at 8:06 p.m. Crews from Essex were the first to arrive, and smoke was showing from the single-family home when firefighters arrived, officials said.

Firefighters placed the blaze under control by 8:26 p.m., authorities said.

The woman was taken to the hospital in serious condition, fire officials reported. The three officers were taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where they were treated for minor injuries and released, officials said.

While several dogs in the home survived the fire, authorities said the lizard did not.

Image via Shutterstock.