Overlea House Fire Kills 1: Officials

OVERLEA, MD — A woman died following a house fire in Overlea that broke out Monday night, Baltimore County public safety officials reported Tuesday.

Samantha Armstrong, 34, was rescued from a house where first responders were dispatched at 10:45 p.m. after a neighbor saw flames coming from the residence in the 6900 block of Beech Avenue, police said.

Armstrong was taken to Franklin Square Hospital, then to Bayview Medical Center, and was pronounced deceased at 2:05 a.m. on Tuesday, according to authorities.

Two other people lived in the home. One was on the porch roof when police arrived, and neighbors helped the man to the ground with a ladder, according to officials. Another resident was not home at the time of the blaze, authorities said.

Approximately 30 fire crews, including personnel from Baltimore County and Baltimore City, fought the fire, which investigators believe started in the kitchen ceiling.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation Tuesday afternoon.

Although another fire broke out in the vicinity at 9:38 p.m. on Monday, officials said that the two were not believed to be related. The other fire was at a vacant home in the 7500 block of Belair Road, approximately 0.6 mile from the blaze on Beech Avenue.

There were about 30 fire crews battling the blaze on Beech Avenue on Monday, April 24. Baltimore County’s Engine 7 arrived first and took the lead in the firefight along with Baltimore City’s Ladder 30 and Engine 56, authorities reported. Photo Credit: Baltimore County Police and Fire.