There “wasn’t much” Baltimore City firefighters could have done to save the lives of a half dozen people who perished Tuesday in a rowhouse blaze.
“The scene inside that house was something nobody should have to see,” Baltimore City Fire Chief William Goodwin said. “Nobody should have to die that way.”
Six people died, including at least two children, and seven were injured in what is thought to be one of the Baltimore area?s deadliest fires in recent memory.
About 7:20 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters arrived at 1903 Cecil Ave. to find a rowhouse devastated by flames. Four people were found dead in an upstairs bedroom and one was found dead in the first floor at the bottom of the stairs, fire officials said. Another victim, a 5-year-old boy, died later at a local hospital.
Seven other people in the house were hospitalized.
“There was a large magnitude of fire upon their arrival,” Goodwin said of the firefighters. “They got there within three minutes. There wasn?t much more they could have done.”
Firefighters are still working to determine the cause of the blaze.
“We have no indication at this point of any type of arson, but you never know,” Goodwin said, adding that an arson-detecting dog was inspecting the scene. “A lot of older structures tend to burn rather well if given the opportunity.”
A photographer with the Baltimore Police Department?s laboratory division was seen taking pictures in the house Tuesday afternoon.
Of those hospitalized, three women, ages 43, 27 and 20, and a 30-year-old man, were in an intensive care unit late Tuesday, suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. A 27-year-old man suffered a heart attack, but regained his pulse. He was transferred to the hyperbaric center at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. A 3-year-old girl suffering from burns and smoke was undergoing an operation, fire officials said Tuesday evening. A 4-year-old girl, who jumped from the fiery building, was in stable condition at Johns Hopkins Children?s Center.
Goodwin said a 2005 inspection revealed the house had smoke detectors, but it could not be determined whether the devices were still there or working.
While firefighters continued the investigation, neighbors and family members reacted with shock and sadness at news of the deaths.
“The building went up quickly,” said Kevin Anderson, 47, a friend of the family. “It?s terrible. They were good, good people.”
The deadly toll, the worst fire in Baltimore since the Dawson family was burned to death by a drug dealer in retaliation for calling police in 2002 was the result of several factors, including the structure of the building itself, said Fire Department spokesman Kevin Cartwright.
“Since row homes are attached to other buildings, they have fewer exits,” he said. “Less places to escape.”
But neighbors said they were suspicious that the building could burn so fast.
