NOTTINGHAM — A two-alarm townhouse fire in Nottingham left a woman dead and another displaced Sunday, according to Baltimore County Fire officials.
Crews were called to the unit block of Wolf Trap Court at 3:54 a.m. with reports of someone trapped inside a burning home.
On scene firefighters discovered three homes involved, two of them occupied.
Crews tried but were unable to immediately complete a search of one home, because it was fully engulfed in flames with its structure quickly deteriorating.
After stabilizing the home, units made their way inside and located Nicole Altman, 41, dead on the first floor.
"It was big, by the time the house was on fire, it was way too big for anybody to even get next to the house," said Patricia Sprye, a neighbor.
Sprye lived close to Altman, whom she described as a kind soul. News of her death saddened the community, with people in the community already filling her doorstep with flowers to say goodbye.
"She was really nice; if I was cutting my grass, she would come and be like, 'come here, sweetie, let me finish for you' and just finish trying to cut my grass for me," said Sprye. "She had two children there, and her mother, before she passed, helped her take care of the two children, and they were really important to her."
Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire, but confirmed that it started on the rear deck of the townhome
Another resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he witnessed the entire incident.
"My ring camera kept going off at like 3:45 this morning, and I looked outside and saw, you know, the fire trucks, and when I came out, the whole front of the house was engulfed."
All three homes sustained smoke, water, and fire damage estimated at $750,000.
