A smoke alarm inside the Waldorf, Maryland, home that went up in flames Sunday morning, killing six people, had been disconnected and had no battery installed.

Six family members, including four young children, were killed in a house fire in Waldorf, Maryland, on Sunday morning, authorities say. The fire is one of the deadliest in the state in recent memory.

Six people, including two adults and four children, died in a Waldorf house fire that erupted early Sunday morning in the 3000 block of Declaration Court North, Charles County. The blaze, reported around 8:40 a.