The victims were two adults and four children, according to officials. There were nine residents who lived at the house; one adult escaped and two others were not home at the time of the fire. The origin of the fire remains under investigation, but there was no evidence of a criminal act, the Maryland State Fire Marshal said in a post on X.

Deputies attempted to enter the home but could not due to heavy smoke and flames,” the Office of the State Fire Marshal said.

A devastating house fire in Charles County has claimed the lives of six people, including four children, marking Maryland’s deadliest residential fire in more than a decade.