Two Die in Blaze That Drove Firefighters From House

Two people were killed late Saturday in a Prince George's County house fire so intense that it sent firefighters scrambling out of the 1 1/2-story building minutes before its roof collapsed, authorities said.

Fire authorities did not identify the two people, saying their bodies were being sent to the medical examiner for autopsies. A police spokesman said the two were believed to be adult men.

Firefighters were called to the 12300 block of Wheeling Avenue in Marlton just before midnight Saturday, said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George's Fire and EMS Department. When they arrived, the fire was so intense, especially on the first floor, that "it was impossible to go inside," Brady said. He said neighbors reported that people might be trapped in the house.

Crews eventually subdued the blaze enough to do a cursory search, but they were driven from the home just before the roof collapsed, Brady said. When they got the flames under control about 45 minutes later, they found the two bodies -- one on the first floor and one in the basement, he said.

The body on the first floor was burned beyond recognition, Brady said. He said investigators were trying to determine what caused the fire and what killed the victims.

Officer Evan Baxter, a Prince George's police spokesman, said homicide investigators are assisting fire authorities but are taking a secondary role unless evidence emerges indicating that the men were slain.

Latrice Johnson, 25, who lives nearby, said she was standing outside her home Saturday night when she spotted flames that appeared to be coming from her neighbor's back yard. Other residents started banging on the neighbor's door, she said, but no one came out. Within what seemed like seconds, she said, the fire had consumed the whole house. Another neighbor moved a black Mustang in the driveway, and Johnson called 911, she said.

"It was on the trees in the back yard. It was just going crazy," Johnson said. "To actually see it, I was devastated. I'm watching someone lose their house and not knowing if someone's in the house."

The fire caused an estimated $300,000 in damage, Brady said.