A 66-year-old man died after a house fire Sunday morning in Kensington, Maryland, authorities said.
The home is believed to be a rental property and didn't have working smoke alarms, Pete Piringer, the spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service, said.
Units from Montgomery Fire responded at about 9 a.m. to the residence in the 4300 block of Warner Street after a neighbor reported seeing smoke and flames, Piringer said.
At the scene, firefighters saw fire coming out of the front door. Inside, they found the sole occupant, a 66-year-old man, unconscious and with burn injuries, officials said.
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He was taken to a hospital in critical condition, where he died, the fire department said.
Firefighters believe the fire originated in the living room of the home and the cause was electrical. Overheated extension cords close to combustibles on the first floor caught fire, Piringer said.
The incident remains under investigation.
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Approximately 50 firefighters responded to the scene to battle the blaze, Piringer said. It caused roughly $275,000 in damages.
This is the fifth fire fatality in Montgomery County in 2021, the spokesman said. So far, all victims have been people over 60 with apparent mobility issues, which authorities believe was a factor in this incident.
Police have not released the name of the victim.
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