Apartment fire in Largo claims life and injures child

LARGO, Maryland – One person is dead and a child is hospitalized in critical condition after a major fire at a Largo apartment Tuesday morning.

Firefighters from Prince George’s County were called to the Harry S. Truman Drive apartment complex shortly before 4 a.m. for a fire. When firefighters arrived on scene, they saw flames shooting out of the roof of the building. A second alarm was raised to bring additional firefighters to the scene Tuesday morning.

The firefighters were able to extinguish the flames quickly. When the apartment on the third floor was searched, a man and a boy were found inside. Both were taken to the hospital, where the man was pronounced dead. The boy is in critical condition in the hospital, according to Alan Doubleday, a spokesman for the fire department. The emergency services were also able to rescue a dog from the apartment.

No other injuries were reported, Doubleday said.

Firefighters are still on site, along with investigators from the fire department, to determine the cause of the fire. It is not clear whether the apartment had working smoke detectors.

Doubleday described the loss of life in the fire as regrettable and urged neighbors to develop an escape plan.

“We would encourage people to get out of the house and stay outside in the event of a fire. Make sure your house or apartment has a working smoke alarm and have an escape plan. When something like this happens in the middle of the night, it can be devastating and traumatic for everyone involved,” he said.

Doubleday said the building where the fire started has been declared uninhabitable. It is not yet known how many residents have been left homeless by the fire.

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