Boy Dies After Gwynn Oak Apartment Fire: Officials

GWYNN OAK, MD — A 7-year-old boy died as the result of an apartment fire in Gwynn Oak that broke out early Christmas morning, according to authorities.

Clinton Chimobi Ezeamaka was pronounced deceased Saturday, Dec. 25, at the pediatric burn unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital, officials said.

Officials said the boy was in his bedroom when the fire broke out before 12:30 a.m. at the garden apartment building in the 6700 block of Townbrook Drive.

The building was engulfed in flames when crews arrived, and it took about an hour to bring the blaze under control.

Firefighters from Woodlawn and Westview found Clinton in his bedroom on the third floor, according to Baltimore County fire officials.

The fire started on the second floor, then spread up and burned the roof of the building, so authorities said Clinton was trapped with heat and fire both above and below him.

Once firefighters removed Clinton from the building, medics began life-saving measures and took him to Northwest Hospital, officials said. Then he was transferred to the burn unit at Hopkins, where he succumbed to his injuries.

He was not the only one who was injured. A career firefighter was also taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening, officials said.

Investigators ruled the blaze accidental, as the result of cigarettes that were improperly disposed of in the apartment below the boy's. Officials said a large volume of debris and clothing, items that are combustible, were also on the balcony of the apartment where the fire originated.

Seven people were displaced, and 16 apartments were deemed uninhabitable as a result of the fire, authorities said. The Red Cross and apartment management were working to help the displaced tenants.