Home»BALTIMORE COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT»INCIDENTS»2008 Fires and Incidents»3-Alarms Virginia Towers Apts. 5-11-08

Just before 1 p.m. on May 11th, Baltimore County Fire Department Engine 101 and Truck 1 responded to 500 Virginia Avenue (Virginia Towers) for a fire alarm sounding in the high-rise residential building. When units arrived, they discovered an electrical fire burning underground adjacent to the building, which extended into a second-floor electrical room. Interior crews reported heavy smoke, requested a full fire box and a priority response from Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE). As the smoke intensified, command requested an additional two engines and one truck and a medical strike team and began evacuating residents of the lower floors. An estimated 300 residents, many of them seniors and/or handicapped individuals, live in the building, although officials are unsure how many were home during the fire due to the holiday. Residents who were not ordered to evacuate were told to shelter in place, and many could be seen at their open windows during the incident. Crews monitoring carbon monoxide levels reported readings were at 600 parts per million on the 11th floor at one time during the incident. The incident escalated to a third alarm response, bringing about 25 pieces of equipment and 120 fire personnel to the scene, said BCoFD Division Chief Michael Robinson. This is the second electrical fire at this building in the past nine months, with the last incident occuring in August 2007. The Baltimore County Office of Emergency Management responded to the scene to assist evacuated residents, and officials opened an emergency shelter at the nearby Bykota Senior Center. Due to power remaining out in the building, residents were unable to stay in their apartments on Sunday evening; some stayed with family while others were temporarily relocated to a nearby motel.