UPDATE (July 1, 11:00 a.m.): Howard County Police Department has identified the victim in the June 30 apartment fire in Columbia as David Richardson, 63. The fire was determined by investigators to have been accidental in nature, likely caused by an electrical malfunction.
ORIGINAL RELEASE (June 30): Columbia, MD – Around 5:45 pm today, firefighters from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (HCDFRS) responded to the 11500 block of Little Patuxent Parkway in Columbia for the report of an odor of smoke in an apartment building. Upon arrival, crews found smoke coming from the structure and immediately entered the building.
Crews located a kitchen fire in an apartment and an adult civilian in cardiac arrest. The adult patient was rescued and, despite resuscitation efforts, they were pronounced deceased on the scene. Their identification will be released after appropriate notifications are made to next of kin.
The fire took approximately ten minutes to extinguish. There were no fire department injuries. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Office of the Fire Marshal and Howard County Police Department, which is standard procedure in the event of a fatality.
For more information, please contact the HCDFRS Office of Community Outreach and Media Affairs at 410-313-6039.