A woman was killed early Friday morning when a blaze ripped through a residence near Rising Sun — marking the second fatal house fire in Cecil County in five days, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.
Investigators have not released the name and age of the woman who perished in the fire, which occurred in the unit block of Mason Dixon Court, north of Rising Sun.
Sr. Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver J. Alkire told the Cecil Whig that the woman was the sole occupant of the house and that her body has been taken to the Maryland State Medical Examiner's Office in Baltimore for an autopsy.
Approximately 50 firefighters with several volunteer fire companies from Cecil County and Chester (Pa.) County responded to the scene shortly after 5 a.m. Friday, after receiving the emergency dispatch for the two-alarm fire, and they battled the blaze for about 40 minutes before bringing it under control, fire officials said. The Community Fire Co. of Rising Sun served as the on-scene command unit, fire officials added.