NORTH EAST, Md. - Maryland fire investigators says three children are dead and their mother is in critical condition after a fire at a Cecil County townhouse.

The State Fire Marshal's office says 29-year-old Jewel Johnson was rescued from a first-floor roof at the townhouse in North East around 3:30 a.m. Saturday and flown to Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center in critical condition.

Deputy Fire Marshal Bruce Bouch says Johnson's children's bodies were found on the second floor and taken to the Office of the State Medical Examiner. He says officials hope to identify them Sunday.

Bouch says an older sibling was staying with his grandmother in Pennsylvania.

Bouch says the fire started in the living room, but the cause is still under investigation. He says 17 residents of nearby units were displaced.

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