CUMBERLAND — Ralph Crawford flipped through the pages of a charred photo album Sunday afternoon, trying to salvage something from the early morning fire that killed three women, including his grandmother and aunt.
Delores Crawford, 66, and her daughter Ruth Crawford, 37, couldn’t escape from the flames that consumed their home on Estelle Street, a steep, narrow road that abuts Interstate 68 near Maryland Avenue.
A third woman, Kellie Appold, 45, who family members said was Ruth’s partner of two years, also died.
Firefighters responded to the fire around 4 a.m. after a passerby called 911, according to the Maryland state fire marshal’s office.
“I heard a popping noise — pop, pop, pop — that woke me up, and I looked out the upstairs window,” said Delores’ son, Edward “Buddy” Crawford, 47, who lives next door.
“The whole house was in flames. Once I seen the house, I said, ‘Ain’t no way they got out.’”
Edward’s wife, Carol, who was also asleep, said she called 911 as soon as she saw the flames.
“I said to him, ‘Go over and help them! Go over and help them!’ He says, “I can’t go there. It’s too late,’” said Carol, who evacuated the couple’s home as soon as firefighters arrived and told them to get out.
The two houses, which are within a few feet of each other, have belonged to the Crawford family for several decades, said Edward Crawford, whose home wasn’t damaged in the fire.
It took firefighters about 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze so that they could enter the home and search for the women, officials said.
“I guess they were trying to get out,” said David Hodge, Delores Crawford’s son-in-law, who spent time rummaging through the wreckage Sunday afternoon. He said he had spoken to investigators at the scene early this morning.
“They said my mother-in-law was at the bottom of the stairs. ... I was hoping maybe they were just asleep. It’s hard just knowing they were trying to get out.”
Edward Crawford said his home has smoke detectors, but he wasn’t sure whether his mother’s did. Her house was about 100 years old and made of wood, he said.
The state fire marshal’s office is investigating the fire but hasn’t released a cause. The bodies of the deceased are being taken to the Office of the Chief Medical examiner, officials said.
Funeral arrangements are being made through Scarpelli Funeral Home, family members said.
“It’s a pretty close family,” said David Hodge, who is married to Delores’ daughter, Tina. “They were just regular people. You know, go shopping, do regular stuff. They were good people. They didn’t go to church or anything, but they were good people.”
“They liked camping and fishing and hunting,” Carol Crawford said.
“Had cookouts all the time,” Edward Crawford said.
“I just sat down last night and made Christmas cards, and I did one for them,” Carol Crawford said. “ I give them a Christmas card every year. I got mom’s two necklaces up there. I got her a watch and I was going to get a battery for it.”
On Sunday afternoon, a half dozen of Delores’ 14 great-grandchildren played outside the charred frame of her home while other family members sorted through what was left.
There wasn’t much that could be saved.
“I just can’t believe they went that way,” Carol Crawford said. “His mom was just like a mom to me. His sister was just like a sister. This is a terrible, horrible way to go.”
Contact Kristin Harty Barkley at kbarkley@times-news.com.
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Related Photos
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Fire consumes a home at 328 Estelle St. in Cumberland early Sunday morning. Three city residents died in the 4 a.m. blaze. photo courtesy of Derick Fischer, Orleans Volunteer Fire Department
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Cumberland police and firefighters stand in front of an Estelle Street Sunday where three people died in an early morning fire. Steve Bittner
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