Toddlers, Grandparents Die in House Fire; Victims Found in Bedrooms (Update)

UPDATED at 11:45 a.m.

CHILLUM, MD — Two toddlers and their grandparents died Tuesday in a Chillum house fire that destroyed the home, which had no smoke alarms, say Prince George’s County fire officials.

A total of seven people were inside the home when the fire started about 2 a.m. in the 6700 block of Knollbrook Drive in Chillum, said Mark Brady, fire department spokesman. One person jumped to safety before rescuers arrived, and four people were pulled from the home in critical condition.

Brady says that 2-year old twins – a boy and a girl -- and their grandparents, died from their injuries.

Fire was showing from three sides of the house and both floors when firefighters arrived at 2:07 a.m. Frantic relatives told firefighters that people were trapped inside the burning structure.

Anna and Israel Omijie, the twins, were pronounced dead at Children’s Hospital, said Fire Chief Marc Bashoor.

Caroline Omogbo, 55, and Samson Omogbo, 63, the youngsters’ grandparents, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Firefighters found the children and their grandparents in bedrooms on the second floor. The twins were in one bedroom and the grandparentswere in their own bedroom.

The mother of the twins jumped from a second-floor window and was taken to an area hospital with leg injuries.

Two other adult female family members were able to escape unharmed.

“I am sorry to say there is so far no evidence of a smoke alarm in the home,” Bashoor said.

Loss at the rental home is estimated at $250,000, and there are no signs of anything suspicious.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the cold and icy conditions, the chief said.

“When you have children involved it’s tough on the community, it’s tough on these families, obviously, and tough on the fire service,” Bashoor said. “It’s really difficult to continue to see homes without smoke alarms.”

Firefighters will go door to door in the neighborhood this afternoon checking smoke alarms, Brady said.

Today is the one-year anniversary of a fatal mansion fire in Annapolis that killed four children and their grandparents, Bashoor noted, making Jan. 18 a poignant day for firefighters in the region.

“It’s going to be a rough day for the firefighters that are here,” he said.

»Photo of fatal Chillum house fire location courtesy of Mark Brady’s Twitter feed, Prince George’s County Fire Department