A fire ripped through a house at Charles County in Maryland on Sunday, killing four children and two adults, authorities said.

One person managed to escape the blaze reported around 8.40 am at the home in Waldorf, about 88 kilometres south of Baltimore, WTOP-TV reported.

It took about 70 firefighters more than an hour to control the flames. One firefighter was hospitalised and another first responder was treated at the scene for unspecified injuries.