Pikesville neighbors reflect after helping residents during fatal house fire

BALTIMORE -- Wednesday's fatal fire in Pikesville has been ruled as an accidental fire caused by an electrical malfunction, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department.

Authorities confirmed two people were inside the home at the time of the fire on the 500 block of Shamrock Lane. 

Though it was a tragic incident, on Thursday WJZ learned of a heroic rescue that happened moments before emergency responders arrived. 

Neighborhood Response

20-year-old Samuel 'Sam' Roszel lived along Shamrock Lane his entire life. So, when he saw flames coming from his elderly neighbor's home Wednesday night as he drove by, he sprang into action.

Roszel ran out of his car to try and get his neighbors out of the home where the fire was spreading quickly.

"I called 911. I got out of the car. I ran up to the house because I saw cars in the driveway, and I figured there were still people in there," said Samuel Roszel, the Pikesville resident who helped save his neighbor.

"I knocked on her door, over and over again, until she came out and she opened the door, and I kind of grabbed her hand and just kind of like, helped her get out of the house and get down to the sidewalk." 

Roszel said he heard the woman shouting someone was still inside. 

"She was like my husband is still in there. And I just, I panicked, because I knew there was no way we could go back in there to do that," Roszel said. "And she wanted to go in there, and I was just really worried about getting her to safety." 

Moments later, Roszel and his mother Kim watched as Baltimore County Fire Department and other responders flooded the street just before 9:30 p.m. 

"They went straight in, and I yelled," Roszel said. "I was like, there's a guy in there. Her husband's in there. We don't know where he is. He was supposed to follow her out, but he's still in there." 

Inside, crews found Thomas Poe, 76, of Pikesville suffering from cardiac arrest in a second-floor bedroom.  Firefighters removed him from the home and began resuscitating him. 

The woman Roszel helped rescue is known to neighbors as Poe's wife, Mrs. Brenda.

Roszel's mother said she's known the couple for years, and never thought anything like this would happen in the neighborhood she grew up in. 

"She was in shock. She was trying to absorb what was going on, obviously concerned about her husband. She kept saying my husband's inside," said Kim Roszel, Sam's mother. 

"I would have done it for anybody"

Even in complete shock and in the midst of a tragedy, the neighbors of Shamrock Lane did what they knew how to do best, help each other.

Marcquetta Carey told WJZ she has lived along Shamrock Lane for 19 years and also knew the couple who lived in the home.

Carey said once she saw the flames across the street, she knew she had to help. 

"It was a no-brainer you know, for me to open up my home to her and her family. That was the least I could do in the midst of this tragic event, so you know I did that without even thinking," said Carey, a longtime neighbor.

Though the fire was a fatal tragedy, a community full of heroes emerged to help their neighbors in a time of need. 

"I would have done it for anybody," said Roszel. 

Baltimore County Fire confirmed Poe was pronounced dead at the hospital late Wednesday night. 

Neighbors said this was a big loss for their community, but no matter what, they'll always show up for each other. 

"After this, I feel like it has brought the neighborhood a little bit closer together," said Roszel.