BALTIMORE — A abruptly intensifying blaze that engulfed more than one rowhouses in northwest Baltimore overdue Thursday afternoon left one firefighter lifeless and 4 others injured, town officers stated.
The injured firefighters sustained various levels of burns and are receiving scientific remedy, officers stated at a news convention Thursday night time out of doors Baltimore’s Shock Trauma Center on the University of Maryland Medical System.
The Baltimore Fire Department has confronted rising controversy in fresh months over its insurance policies and coaching after 3 firefighters died whilst battling a vacant rowhouse fire early ultimate yr. Local officers known as for added oversight of the company and the dept’s earlier chief resigned amid the turmoil.
James Wallace, who was once sworn in previous this month as Baltimore’s new fire leader, stated the blaze “appeared to rapidly grow in intensity” now not lengthy after firefighters arrived on scene.
“Tonight, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce one member has tragically perished as a result of his injuries,” he stated, declining to unlock the firefighter’s identify pending subsequent of relations notification.
The two-alarm fire broke out simply prior to 4 p.m., officers stated. Footage from native tv stations confirmed a number of rowhouses engulfed in flames, with portions of the buildings collapsing and black smoke billowing from their home windows and roofs.
No civilian accidents had been reported and the reason for the fire stays beneath investigation.
Wallace stated a minimum of some of the constructions concerned seemed to be occupied. He stated investigators haven’t decided why the fire intensified so briefly.
“What I can tell you is, we attacked this fire like we attack many fires,” he stated.
Hours prior to officers publicly showed the firefighter’s loss of life, dozens of first responders amassed out of doors the Baltimore health center for a salute. Many later accompanied a Baltimore Fire Department ambulance in a sluggish procession via downtown.
“Firefighters are our living superheroes, and we don’t expect to lose them,” Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby stated all through the news convention. “It’s a reminder of what firefighters do on a regular basis to protect and serve our city.”
The January 2022 fire that killed 3 firefighters triggered larger scrutiny of Baltimore’s fire division, which frequently is tasked with responding to treacherous prerequisites when flames escape within the town’s many vacant constructions.
A record launched months later pointed to a lot of deficiencies that can have positioned firefighters in useless threat when the three-story brick development collapsed. Among different problems, it discovered there was once no program in position to inform firefighters about vacant and unsafe constructions prior to they made access.
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