Fatal Eldersburg Apartment Fire: Officials Identify Victim

ELDERSBURG, MD — Officials said a woman died in an apartment fire in Eldersburg on Christmas Eve. The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the deadly blaze.

Leslie C. Geisendaffer, 47, was pronounced deceased inside the Piney Ridge Apartments, according to the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Based on the preliminary investigation, officials said that Geisendaffer was the only person inside the apartment, where the fire started in the bedroom.

Crews were dispatched for smoke inside an apartment on Marimich Court at approximately 9:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 24.

Family members who also lived at the complex tried to enter the apartment after smoke alarms went off but had to leave because of smoky conditions, the fire marshal said.

Firefighters could barely see as they went inside because of the smoke and worked aggressively to control the spread of the fire, the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department reported.

Search crews found a fire and Geisendaffer deceased on the bedroom floor, officials said.

About 40 firefighters from Carroll, Baltimore and Howard counties worked for about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control.

It was contained to the second-story bedroom, with smoke damage throughout the home and some damage to the adjacent unit, authorities reported.

The body of Geisendaffer was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death. The incident was the first fatal fire in more than three years in the area, according to the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department.

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