Fires Maryland

A mother accused of setting a row-house fire that killed her two young daughters and sipping a soda while it burned was convicted Friday of murder and arson. Prosecutors said Rene Aulton had hoped to get rid of her daughters, ages 2 and 4, in hopes of reviving her relationship with her boyfriend. Upon hearing the verdict, Aulton, 27, hung her head on her chest and wept silently. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison without parole at sentencing April 12.

Federal investigators pored over city records and examined a century-old cast-iron pipe Tuesday to determine whether the derailment that paralyzed Baltimore was caused by a burst water main. City officials insisted that it was the train wreck that caused the water main to break. The question of which came first will determine whether the city or the CSX freight railroad is responsible for paying for the damage, the cleanup, business losses and overtime for police and firefighters.

A fire roared through the top floor of a three-story beachfront motel, killing two women and injuring 14 others in Ocean City, Md., a resort town bustling with high school graduates, authorities said. Killed in the fire were Crystal Lee Tate, 19, and Beverly Jean Bortz, 19, both of York, Pa. Four people, including a 1-year-old boy, fled the flames when they jumped from a third-floor window and landed in a trash dumpster that had been pushed into position by police officers.

A murder suspect holding three people hostage for a third day fired shots out a window Sunday evening after several hours of calm following a morning burst of gunfire. Authorities tried to avoid agitating the suspect, who was believed to be watching the ordeal on television. Joseph Palczynski had been on the run since March 7, when police say he kidnapped his girlfriend, Tracy Whitehead, and killed the couple she was staying with and a neighbor.

A small fire broke out Wednesday in the clinical center of the National Institutes of Health, and one firefighter was injured, authorities said. Damage from water and smoke was estimated at $35,000.

A malfunctioning television set apparently started a fire that swept through a row house on the city's west side Friday, killing three people and injuring five others, two of them critically, officials said.

Children playing with matches was listed Saturday by fire officials as the cause of a Thanksgiving Day fire that killed six children ranging in age from 7 months to 10 years in a two-story home. Eight adults jumped to safety from first- and second-story windows in the fire, while two children were rescued.

Three people were killed Friday in a fire in a two-story row house where a buzzing smoke detector was found muffled under a pile of clothing, fire officials said.

Arson in a two-story row house Tuesday morning killed four children, ages 2 months to 5 years, who were trapped upstairs and suffocated on thick smoke from the fire, police said.

A fire in the heart of this historic downtown community burned for hours Tuesday, damaging a restaurant and several other buildings on Main Street. No injuries were reported. Many of the burned buildings date from the 1800s. Ellicott City is about 10 miles west of Baltimore.

A fire in the heart of this historic downtown community burned for hours Tuesday, damaging a restaurant and several other buildings on Main Street. No injuries were reported. Many of the burned buildings date from the 1800s. Ellicott City is about 10 miles west of Baltimore.

A mother accused of setting a row-house fire that killed her two young daughters and sipping a soda while it burned was convicted Friday of murder and arson. Prosecutors said Rene Aulton had hoped to get rid of her daughters, ages 2 and 4, in hopes of reviving her relationship with her boyfriend. Upon hearing the verdict, Aulton, 27, hung her head on her chest and wept silently. Prosecutors are seeking life in prison without parole at sentencing April 12.

Homeless people trying to stay warm accidentally set fire to an abandoned warehouse today, causing a huge blaze that destroyed the building and a neighboring business complex, authorities said. The block-long complex housed about 50 businesses, including a recording studio, a video production company, a photography studio and a graphic arts office. "We lost everything," said Michael Wells, who worked for Diamond in the Ruff, the video production company. "We were all small businesses.

A fire engulfed a row house, killing seven children and two adults, because the residents were burning candles after their electricity had been cut off, fire officials said Sunday. A 21-year-old woman dropped her 2-year-old son to safety from a second-floor window and then jumped, breaking her ankle, fire officials said. The only other survivor was a 14-year-old boy who told investigators that he was awakened by the heat and screamed to wake the others upstairs.

Arson in a two-story row house Tuesday morning killed four children, ages 2 months to 5 years, who were trapped upstairs and suffocated on thick smoke from the fire, police said.

The toll from a fiery explosion in a sandwich shop that destroyed two neighboring buildings and damaged several others in Perryville, Md., climbed to at least $10 million. Three more buildings, including a historic church, were condemned after the fire Saturday that killed one woman and left about 100 homeless in the town of 2,000.

An explosion and fire leveled three buildings, including a five-unit apartment house Saturday, killing one woman, injuring 34 others and causing $2 million in damage, a fire official said. The six-alarm fire caused the "total collapse" of three buildings and damaged a dozen others, according to Deputy State Fire Marshal Bob Thomas. A tenant from one of the buildings, Susan Monsoon, 43, was found dead under tons of rubble 12 hours after the 9 a.m. explosion.

Federal investigators pored over city records and examined a century-old cast-iron pipe Tuesday to determine whether the derailment that paralyzed Baltimore was caused by a burst water main. City officials insisted that it was the train wreck that caused the water main to break. The question of which came first will determine whether the city or the CSX freight railroad is responsible for paying for the damage, the cleanup, business losses and overtime for police and firefighters.

An explosion and fire leveled three buildings, including a five-unit apartment house Saturday, killing one woman, injuring 34 others and causing $2 million in damage, a fire official said. The six-alarm fire caused the "total collapse" of three buildings and damaged a dozen others, according to Deputy State Fire Marshal Bob Thomas. A tenant from one of the buildings, Susan Monsoon, 43, was found dead under tons of rubble 12 hours after the 9 a.m. explosion.

An explosion and fire, apparently caused by a gas leak, ripped through a three-story motel Sunday morning and killed at least four people. Some guests escaped by jumping out of windows, authorities said. At least 10 people were injured and one woman was missing and feared trapped in the rubble. Officials said that at the time of the blast, utility crews were on the way to the motel to deal with a reported leak from a natural gas line.