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21 March 2025
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Firefighters follow vacant, ‘Code X’ building protocols to contain West Baltimore (MD) four-alarm fire, US
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The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) continues its investigation into the four-alarm fire that occurred on the 2200 block of N Fulton Ave. Firefighters quickly responded to the blaze early Friday morning, 7 March 2025, where they encountered heavy fire conditions, originating in a vacant dwelling, that quickly spread to adjacent buildings.
While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, early indications suggest possible illegal occupant activity in the building where the fire originated. “We are thoroughly examining all factors that contributed to this devastating fire,” said Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace. “Preliminary findings suggest that unauthorised individuals may have been present in the structure before the fire broke out. Our investigators, in coordination with local authorities, are working diligently to determine the exact circumstances and whether any criminal activity played a role.”
The fire, which required over 100 firefighters, EMTs and response personnel to contain, caused extensive damage to multiple structures and resulted in temporary road closures in the area. Fortunately, no civilian nor BCFD injuries have been reported.
The procedures were adopted after a deadly fire on Stricker Street in East Baltimore in 2022. While trying to contain a rowhouse blaze, firefighters mounted an interior attack on a fire in a vacant after an emergency dispatcher had reported that a person might be trapped inside. The rowhouse collapsed five minutes after firefighters entered, killing three of them and badly injuring another.
At the time, the Baltimore City Fire Department did not have a formal policy about how to approach burning buildings that are not legally occupied, but where people might be trapped. Following the Stricker Street blaze, then Fire Chief Niles Ford assembled a “board of inquiry” with Baltimore and regional fire officers to develop a policy on vacant building fires and investigate what went wrong at the fire scene.
Established in 2022, the policy determines BCFD responses to fires in unstable structures.
The main differences include the additional steps of having a report on conditions from all sides of the building before entry, a report from the roof as soon as practical and no entry into a “Code X” building, vacant structures determined to be structurally unsafe for firefighting in any condition, unless there are people trapped inside, according to Josh Fannon, the president of the IAFF Local 964 Baltimore Fire Officers union.
“We do enter vacants, we do not enter Code X,” said John Marsh, a spokesman for the Baltimore Fire Department. “We are told into dispatch from our [Computer Aided Dispatch] system that this is a Code X building. Once they arrive, they know that the main fire building is a Code X that they are to do an exterior attack only unless when they arrive they hear it might be inhabited.”
The policy prohibits firefighters from entering condemned, vacant properties unless there is a “credible” report of someone trapped, such as a witness at the scene who saw a person enter. Firefighters can be disciplined if they break protocol.
“From the perspective of the Union, these procedures are a major step forward in coordination of fire suppression operations in vacant structures over our past operations,” Fannon told The Baltimore Sun in an email. “These changes represent a solid foundation to build further procedures based on future technologies, equipment, and capabilities to ensure firefighter safety in inherently unsafe situations.”
For vacant properties that aren’t condemned, firefighters must wait for a report about the conditions at the back of a building, which could reveal dangers unseen from the front.
In the past, the fire officer who arrived first and ranked the highest would act as an incident commander and decide whether to fight the fire from within. Now, fire officers who arrive on the scene first can determine the type of attack but must wait for a report from the back of the building when making a risk assessment.
The fire, which displaced eight people, was contained around 06h30am. The main fire started in a vacant building but then spread to a Code X next door, according to Marsh. Fire officials worked to contain the fire from outside, not entering based on safety protocols as imposed by the fire inspector.
“We did an exterior attack only after it was determined all structures were clear of inhabitants,” Fannon said.
There were no reported injuries to fire officials or residents.
“There is no way to guarantee absolute firefighter safety, but we are committed to working with the Department to develop and refine procedures to allow operations to be as safe as possible,” Fannon said.
Sources: Baltimore City Fire Department, Baltimore Sun
While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, early indications suggest possible illegal occupant activity in the building where the fire originated. “We are thoroughly examining all factors that contributed to this devastating fire,” said Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace. “Preliminary findings suggest that unauthorised individuals may have been present in the structure before the fire broke out. Our investigators, in coordination with local authorities, are working diligently to determine the exact circumstances and whether any criminal activity played a role.”
The fire, which required over 100 firefighters, EMTs and response personnel to contain, caused extensive damage to multiple structures and resulted in temporary road closures in the area. Fortunately, no civilian nor BCFD injuries have been reported.
The procedures were adopted after a deadly fire on Stricker Street in East Baltimore in 2022. While trying to contain a rowhouse blaze, firefighters mounted an interior attack on a fire in a vacant after an emergency dispatcher had reported that a person might be trapped inside. The rowhouse collapsed five minutes after firefighters entered, killing three of them and badly injuring another.
At the time, the Baltimore City Fire Department did not have a formal policy about how to approach burning buildings that are not legally occupied, but where people might be trapped. Following the Stricker Street blaze, then Fire Chief Niles Ford assembled a “board of inquiry” with Baltimore and regional fire officers to develop a policy on vacant building fires and investigate what went wrong at the fire scene.
Established in 2022, the policy determines BCFD responses to fires in unstable structures.
The main differences include the additional steps of having a report on conditions from all sides of the building before entry, a report from the roof as soon as practical and no entry into a “Code X” building, vacant structures determined to be structurally unsafe for firefighting in any condition, unless there are people trapped inside, according to Josh Fannon, the president of the IAFF Local 964 Baltimore Fire Officers union.
“We do enter vacants, we do not enter Code X,” said John Marsh, a spokesman for the Baltimore Fire Department. “We are told into dispatch from our [Computer Aided Dispatch] system that this is a Code X building. Once they arrive, they know that the main fire building is a Code X that they are to do an exterior attack only unless when they arrive they hear it might be inhabited.”
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The policy prohibits firefighters from entering condemned, vacant properties unless there is a “credible” report of someone trapped, such as a witness at the scene who saw a person enter. Firefighters can be disciplined if they break protocol.
“From the perspective of the Union, these procedures are a major step forward in coordination of fire suppression operations in vacant structures over our past operations,” Fannon told The Baltimore Sun in an email. “These changes represent a solid foundation to build further procedures based on future technologies, equipment, and capabilities to ensure firefighter safety in inherently unsafe situations.”
For vacant properties that aren’t condemned, firefighters must wait for a report about the conditions at the back of a building, which could reveal dangers unseen from the front.
In the past, the fire officer who arrived first and ranked the highest would act as an incident commander and decide whether to fight the fire from within. Now, fire officers who arrive on the scene first can determine the type of attack but must wait for a report from the back of the building when making a risk assessment.
The fire, which displaced eight people, was contained around 06h30am. The main fire started in a vacant building but then spread to a Code X next door, according to Marsh. Fire officials worked to contain the fire from outside, not entering based on safety protocols as imposed by the fire inspector.
“We did an exterior attack only after it was determined all structures were clear of inhabitants,” Fannon said.
There were no reported injuries to fire officials or residents.
“There is no way to guarantee absolute firefighter safety, but we are committed to working with the Department to develop and refine procedures to allow operations to be as safe as possible,” Fannon said.
Sources: Baltimore City Fire Department, Baltimore Sun
