Home»BALTIMORE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT»INCIDENTS»2015 Fires and Incidents»3-Alarms 1411 Division St. 1-14-15

In the early morning hours of January 14 firefighters were called out to battle a huge fire in a vacant apartment building as well as the sub freezing temperatures. At 0058 hours Fire Box 13-3 was dispatched for a building fire at 1411 Division Street in the Upton section of west Baltimore. Units arrived to find a large 4-story apartment building with heavy fire throughout the top floors and through the roof. The former school building was comprised of several connected buildings and sat within an enclosed chain link fence. It has been under complete renovation and housed about 200 apartment units.
As companies arrived they immediately set up for exterior operations. Battalion Chief 3 arrived and assumed Command. He made it a working fire and struck out a second alarm at 0105 followed by a third alarm at 0107. As fire broke through the roof there were several collapses within the building creating a huge shower of burning embers and sparks that began blowing through the neighborhood. Command requested a special call for several engine companies to canvas the area and extinguish the burning embers.
Due to heavy smoke conditions 10 residents had to be evacuated from their nearby homes. Two MTA buses were requested to the scene to accommodate the displaced residents and provide rehab for the firefighters who were battling the fire in the frigid temperatures.
As daylight broke most of the heavy fire was knocked down and firefighters maneuvered handlines and started entering the building to hit hot spots. The outside looked like a winter wonderland with ice encrusting everything in sight. The fire was brought under control by daybreak by 125 firefighters with 41 units.
No injuries were reported and Fire Investigators were dispatched to the scene to determine the cause.