UPDATE: Mom, Neighbor Died Trying to Save Teen in Brooklyn Park Fire

UPDATED at 4:30 p.m.

A mother who escaped her burning Brooklyn Park home went back inside the fire in an unsuccessful effort to rescue her son, leading to both of their deaths, plus the death of a neighbor who tried to save them, say authorities.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department officials said the three people killed in the early Tuesday morning fire are: Lettitia Sinnah, 39; Sundima Sinnah, 17; and Christopher Rickman, 45.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Russ Davies says firefighters were called to the house fire in the 100 block of Hilltop Road West just before 2:40 a.m. Tuesday. The first arriving units encountered heavy fire from the two-story, single-family house.

Firefighters immediately entered and removed the three unconscious patients from the residence. They were taken to local hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, the fire department said.

Lettitia Sinnah, her husband and their two sons were all in the home when the fire started in a rear bedroom occupied by the couple’s 20-year-old son. Once he discovered the fire there, authorities say the 20-year-old tried to extinguish it before calling 911.

He and his parents left the residence. But, Sundima Sinnah remained in the house on the second floor. As the fire progressed, Lettitia Sinnah, re-entered the house in an attempt to rescue her younger son. Fire officials say she was overcome by smoke and heat.

A neighbor, Christopher Rickman, entered the burning house in an attempted rescue and was also overcome by the blaze, say firefighters.

The investigation into the cause of the fire continues. The estimated dollar loss is $125,000.

“This tragic incident emphasizes the need for working smoke alarms on all levels of a residence and in every sleeping area,” fire officials said in a statement. “It is believed that smoke alarms were operative in a newer section of the house, which was an addition, but not in the older part of the residence. 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.”

Firefighters will return to the Brooklyn Park neighborhood Saturday morning to help residents check their smoke alarms and install smoke alarms for residents who do not have them.

Original story:

A woman, her teenage son and a would-be rescuer all died Tuesday in an early morning Brooklyn Park house fire, according to authorities.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Russ Davies says firefighters were called to a house fire in the 100 block of Hilltop Road West just before 2:40 a.m. The first arriving units encountered heavy fire from the two-story, single-family house.

Firefighters immediately entered and removed three unconscious patients from the residence. The victims, a 54-year-old woman and her 17-year-old son, were taken to local hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, the fire department said.

Fire officials initially said a 19-year-old man was killed in the fire, but authorities later learned the third victim was a 45-year-old neighbor who went into the home to try to save the woman and boy, reports WMAR TV.

The woman and the boy were mother and son, the station reports, while the man was reported to be a neighbor who tried to rescue the pair. The woman was transported to Shock Trauma, while the boy and man were taken to Harbor Hospital.

Patty Rickman told the Capital-Gazette her brother, Christopher Rickman, 45, was one of the victims. She said her brother ran into the home after hearing an explosion and seeing the flames.

“My mother tried to stop him, but he kept running,” Patty Rickman told the newspaper. “He died a hero.”

The house is owned by United Brethren in Christ Church, the newspaper reports.

Baltimore City fire crews also responded to the two-alarm blaze, WMAR says.

Nine people have died in fires in Anne Arundel County in 2015, the TV station reports, compared with two fire deaths in 2014. An Annapolis couple and their four grandchildren died last month when their Christmas tree caught fire overnight.

Investigators from the Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit are on the scene and the investigation into the fire is ongoing.

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»Screenshots of Brooklyn Park house fire from WMAR TV