A firefighter has died after he fell through the first floor of a blazing Maryland home and became trapped in the basement.
Crews arrived at the three-story property on leafy Deer Wood Park Drive, Leonardtown, at around 4am Tuesday, officials have said.
By the time emergency services arrived, flames had already engulfed the first and second floors, and were scorching through the roof, according to Southern Maryland News.
One firefighter was on the first floor when the structure began disintegrating, and he fell through to the basement, where he became trapped.
He was taken to hospital but later died.
Crews arrived at the three-story property on leafy Deer Wood Park Drive, Leonardtown, at around 4am
One firefighter died after the home collapsed and he became trapped in the basement. He was taken to hospital but confirmed dead a short time later
Surrounding roads have been closed as the county sheriff warned the incident is still ‘active’, and crews continue to tackle the fire.
On-scene photographs taken overnight show apocalyptic scenes – with flames rising several feet above the roof of the home, which is surrounded by woodland and trees.
Aerial footage taken later in the morning show a huge plume of smoke rising from the property, which is almost completely burnt out.
Maryland State Police Helicopters landed nearby, and fire teams from Leonardtown, Hollywood, Bay District, NAS Patuxent River, Valley Lee, and Seventh District have attended the ongoing incident.
The rural property which burned in the early hours of Tuesday is around 6.5 miles from Leonardtown, on the southern edge of Maryland
The firefighter who died has not yet been named. He was trapped in the basement of the blazing Maryland building after the first floor collapsed
Aerial footage shows the building was completely burned out, as fire crews continue to tackle the blaze
Surrounding roads have been closed as the county sheriff warned the incident is still ‘active’, and crews continue to tackle the fire.
Maryland police deputies are at the scene assisting Leonardtown VFD with traffic control.
The rural property is around 6.5 miles from Leonardtown, on the southern edge of Maryland.
