UPDATE (January 22, 8:15 am): Howard County Police Department has identified the victim in the January 21 townhouse fire in Columbia as Sheila Brookshire, 70.
On January 21, Brookshire succumbed to the injuries she sustained in a townhouse fire in the 10300 block of Nightmist Court in Columbia. The fire remains under investigation, but investigators believe the cause to be accidental in nature.
ORIGINAL RELEASE (January 21): Columbia, MD – Around 2:20 pm today, firefighters from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (HCDFRS) responded to the 10300 block of Nightmist Court for a reported townhouse fire. Upon arrival, crews found fire in a second-floor bedroom and were advised that a person was still inside.
Immediately, firefighters entered the structure and rescued the trapped occupant, and began to get the fire under control. The adult patient who was rescued was transported to the hospital with serious burn injuries. A second adult patient, who had self-evacuated, was transported to the hospital with smoke inhalation.
The fire took approximately ten minutes to extinguish. There were no fire department injuries. The HCDFRS Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the origin and cause of the fire.
For more information, please contact the HCDFRS Office of Community Outreach and Media Affairs at 410-313-6039.