BALTIMORE COUNTY — Neighbors are mourning an 80-year-old woman who died in a house fire on Millers Island Boulevard in east Baltimore County.
On Thursday evening, the Vida family was getting ready for dinner when they noticed flames coming from their neighbor's house.
"We were just sitting down, relaxing in the house and I heard him open up the back slider and yell the neighbor's house was on fire. And my mom called 911 and my brother and I didn't think twice but we ran right out of the house," said Alec Vida, who lives next door to the home that caught fire.
Vida says he and his brother immediately ran into the front door of the burning home, alerting and helping the residents inside, whom Vida said were in wheelchairs.
"They didn't even know the house was on fire. So they were kind of startled at first. But we were like, we need to get out of this house, it's on fire," Vida said.
One elderly victim died in the fire: 80-year-old Georgia Norris. Everyone else, including a dog, made it out safely.
"Unfortunately, we've contacted the next of kin and we continue to offer prayers to that family," said Chief Joseph Dixon of the Baltimore County Fire Department.
Fire in Baltimore County leaves 80-year-old woman dead
Dixon told reporters that 'improperly-discarded smoking materials' may be to blame for the fire. Fire investigtors are still looking into the official cause.
"We also want people to understand, especially if you're using medical grade oxygen, that this could be something that could cause harm, and contribute to a fire," Dixon said.
The fire chief also noted there were no working smoke detectors in the home.
A day after the fire, the view from the Vida family's backyard shows the extensive damage. Alec recalled doing landscaping for the neighbors, having known them basically his whole life.
"It's just kind of crazy, because it's too close to home. As you can see, it's pretty close," Vida said.
Norris, 80, is the second person in Baltimore County to die in a fire this year, the department noted.
The fire department says it will return to the community soon, reminding residents to make sure their smoke detectors are working.
This report was converted from its original broadcast television script to a web article with the assistance of an AI tool. A WMAR-2 News journalist thoroughly reviewed its contents before posting it to our website.
