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Visitors 79
Modified 3-Oct-22
Created 2-May-22
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Around 1400 hours on May 2, 2022 Fire Box 14-30 was dispatched for a reported building fire in the 1500 block West Baltimore St. in the Franklin Square neighborhood. As units pulled up to the scene heavy fire was blowing from the second and third floor and through the roof of a 3-story vacant storefront building. The two adjacent exposures were also involved in fire. Units in the rear also reported heavy fire conditions in the three vacant structures. Out front the officer from Engine 36 noticed a large bulge in the front wall of the fire building and ordered exterior operations. A second alarm was also requested by him at that time.
Within minutes the front of the fire building at 1511 West Baltimore St. collapsed and fire spread to the upper floors and roof of several buildings to the west side. The exposure building immediately next to the three involved buildings was an operating Chinese carry-out restaurant and the others were under renovation. There were some initial problems with water pressure and a third alarm was struck out at 1414 hours. Units set up ladder pipes and monitor pipes around the involved buildings and companies on the roof next door initiated a trench cut to keep the fire from extending to the rest of the block. A fourth alarm was requested at 1435 hours to supplement the water supply and bring additional manpower. Companies kept the fire from spreading to a 4-story church on the east side of the fire.
The fire was brought under control in about two hours. The three original buildings suffered heavy damage, as well as the carry-out next door and a total of 7 buildings were involved. The radiant heat also damaged several cars that were parked across the street from the fire. Those three buildings were condemned, and the Department of Public Works tore them down the following day.
No injuries were reported and F.I.B. was on the scene to determine the cause.
This fire is just 5 blocks north of where the 3 firefighters were killed in the fire and collapse in January of this year.

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