A fire at a Joppa house Thursday morning killed a 77-year-old man and injured his wife, authorities said.
Two separate fires started in the first-floor kitchen and the partially finished basement of the house in the 1000 block of Pulaski Highway, fire officials said. Firefighters discovered Charles Otto Fruhling dead in the occupied area of the basement, where the second fire had originated.
His wife, Shirley Fruhling, 71, discovered the kitchen fire around 5 a.m., attempted to put it out herself, then fled and called 911 when she was unsuccessful, said Howard Ewing, a deputy state fire marshal.
She suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where she was treated and released. Investigators, who have not determined the cause, said they found no evidence of smoke detectors. Ewing said the single-story, wood-frame house suffered $100,000 damage, mostly to the basement. He could not say if the house was a total loss, but said Shirley Fruhling has been displaced.
It took 45 firefighters from Harford and Baltimore counties about 15 minutes to bring the fire under control, said Rich Gardiner, Harford Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman. Fruhling became Harford?s ninth fire fatality in 2007, including five who died in a Jan. 18 fire at an Abingdon house. The county had no fire fatalities last year.
