Baltimore, MD – The bodies of six children who were trapped in their Northeast Baltimore home during an early-morning house fire Thursday, Jan. 12 have been recovered, city fire department officials reported. The mother of the children and three other children remain hospitalized.
Authorities have identified the mother as Katie Malone, who works as an aide to Congressman Elijah Cummings, is reported in critical condition at Bayview Medical Center. Two of the three children who escaped the three-story home during the fire—a 4-year-old boy and a 5-year-old boy—are also listed in critical condition. An 8-year-old girl who is credited with leading her two brothers to safety is off the critical list. Local media reports indicate she may be released soon.
The children lost in the tragedy were a 9-month-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, 3-year-old twin girls, a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl.
The children’s father was at work when the fire erupted.
A neighbor told a Baltimore television station, “the little kids, I heard them yell. I thought it was a movie.”
The fire remains under investigation.