Fire officials say the cause of a fire that left three officers injured and an elderly woman in serious condition on Tuesday evening was a heat lamp used to warm a pet lizard falling over.
Baltimore County Fire reports that neighbors spotted smoke coming from the single-family home on the block of Russell Frost Court in Essex after 8 p.m. The neighbors then broke into the house and found an elderly woman in her nineties by the front door.
Baltimore County Police got to the house at 8:05 p.m. and found the 90-year-old woman outside. Officers tried to help put out the fire with extinguishers, but they ultimately had to leave and wait fire crews arrived. An engine from the Essex Volunteer Fire Department arrived first at 8:26 p.m., taking control of the blaze.
Officials say crews rescued the elderly woman and transported her to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center hospital for treatment. The three officers were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center for treatment of minor injuries and were released Tuesday night.
