Home»BALTIMORE COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT»INCIDENTS»2020 Fires and Incidents»3-Alarms 1012 Reisterstown Rd. 10-28-20

Right around 0400 hours on the morning of October 28th Fire Box 2-14 was dispatched for a fire in a restaurant in mid-town Pikesville located in the 1000 block of Reisterstown Road. About the same time a security alarm sounded alerting Baltimore County Police, who in turn notified the restaurant’s owner. The restaurant was a 2-story brick structure known as Jilly’s Bar and Grill, a long-time staple of the Pikesville Community for more than 40 years.
When units from Pikesville career and volunteer stations arrived on the scene they were greeted with heavy fire on several sides as well as through the roof. The officer of Engine 2 quickly asked for the second alarm as companies established a water supply and initiated exterior operations with ladder pipes and master streams. When Battalion Chief 22, Rob Kemp arrived he established Command and ordered defensive operations due to the heavy fire conditions and by now, the front wall was threatening to collapse.
About 45 minutes into the fire fight the front wall, two stories in height, did collapse onto the sidewalk and street. Chief Kemp then requested the third alarm which included mutual aid units from Baltimore City. The fire continued to burn under the collapsed portion of the building.
As daylight approached a front end loader from Public Works was brought to the scene to dig out the fallen debris so firefighters could get at the hidden fire and investigators could begin to find the cause of the fire.
Investigators from Baltimore County Police Arson, Maryland State Fire Marshal, as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were called to the scene. It was determined to be a case of arson. A 40 year-old man who resides in the neighborhood was run away from the restaurant earlier that evening because he was harassing outdoor patrons. He had threatened the owner “that he would be back.” It was discovered that several outside propane heaters were ignited and leaned up against an exterior wall. With that information police actually saw the suspect on the scene later that morning and questioned him. He was subsequently arrested and charged with second degree arson.
The fire was brought under control in about 3 hours. There were no injuries reported. The building was a total loss and valued at 2 million dollars. The owner had promised to try to get the business up and running again as soon as possible.