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Modified 12-Nov-19
Created 7-Apr-16
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Firefighters battled a stubborn 3-alarm fire in an historic 150 year old school for nearly four hours before bringing it under control. A passerby called in the fire to 911 and around 1230 hours on April 6, 2016 Fire Box 13-40 was dispatched for a building fire in the 1300 block of Division Street in the Upton section of west Baltimore.
When companies arrived they encountered a vacant 2-story school building 100’ X 175’ with the first floor securely bricked-up and heavy smoke and fire coming from several second floor windows and roof. Truck companies began to set up ladder pipes for exterior operations as other units began to break into the blocked up ground level windows and doors. Once they gained entry crews attempted an interior attack but were quickly overwhelmed by heavy fire and smoke that involved approximately 50% of the second floor.
Battalion Chief 3, Josh Fannon arrived and took command of the fire. At 1237 hours he declared it a working fire and struck out the second alarm ten minutes later. As the fire intensified and broke through the roof a collapse zone was established and companies surrounded the building with ladder pipes and master streams. Heavy smoke banked down throughout the entire neighborhood making visibility difficult for the ground units. The third alarm was struck out around 1300 with a special call for Water Tower 1 with their elevated platform. As the fire gained headway through the entire roof the center section fell inward and a roof dormer and cornice collapsed to the ground in the front of the building around 1345 hours. The fire was finally brought under control in about four hours by 75 firefighters using 25 pieces of apparatus. There were two minor injuries to firefighters reported. Most of the fire damaged the second floor and roof with water damage to the rest of the structure. The fire caused $50,000 damage to the building and the cause is still under investigation.
Local interest groups have been working to make the school a national landmark. Public School #103, Henry Highland Gamet School was built in 1877. Former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall attended this school for grades 1-8 from 1914-1921. The school closed in the early 1970’s and the Upton Planning Committee moved into it using it for arts and cultural programs as well as community meetings. It was vacated in the 1990’s. The building had been designated as a City landmark and in 2008 Baltimore City invested money and resources to stabilize it and improve the exterior and to determine where to proceed with the building from there. With the extensive damage caused by the fire the fate of the historic school is now uncertain.
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