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Modified 30-Dec-19
Created 3-Dec-19
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Beginning right before midnight on December 1, 2019 Baltimore would be hit with a rash of arson fires in the Carrollton Ridge community in southwest Baltimore. In the next 24 hours some 11 fires would be reported. They all involved vacant buildings and luckily none of them got into any occupied dwellings.
It all started at 2248 hours on December 1st when a 2-story vacant storefront at 2026 W. Pratt St. was set ablaze. Right about the time that it was placed under control and units were clearing a dwelling at 299 S. Pulaski St was on fire. And while this one was burning another dwelling was set on fire at 2005 McHenry St. Again units were clearing the scene after about an hour when another dwelling was set on fire at 2008 Eagle Street which is about 5 blocks to the north. Things settled down until about 0810 hours when smoke was reported from a dwelling at 2019 Frederick Avenue. When units arrived they found a mattress along with trash burning on the third floor.
Again things quieted down for a little while until about 1330 hours when all hell broke loose! This time it started when a fire broke out in another vacant dwelling at 1900 Wilhelm St.. While companies were extinguishing this one someone noticed smoke coming from a house at the other end of the block on the same side. Command requested a tactical box to handle that one.
Exactly one hour later another fire was reported at 1804 McHenry Street which is one block north and one block east of this one. Another Fire Box was dispatched and units arrived on this one to find another vacant 3-story dwelling with heavy smoke and fire on all three floors. This one took about an hour to bring under control.
Once again before companies cleared this fire another fire was set about a half an hour later at 1900 Ramsay Street. A Tactical Box was sent out on this one and it turned out to be a small trash fire on the second floor. And while this one was going on yet another dwelling was reported about 2 blocks away at 2114 Wilhelm St. Another Fire Box was dispatched at 1600 hours and companies arrived to find another boarded up 2-story rowhouse with heavy fire blowing out of the first floor. Before companies brought this one under control, again another dwelling was reported 7 blocks to the east at 1400 McHenry St. Another box assignment responded and found another 3-story vacant with heavy fire conditions in the rear.
That evening the Fire Department set up a command post in the area and had units riding around the streets along with Fire Investigators and Police searching for suspects or fire activity. In the next few days there were a few sporadic fires around the neighborhood. Then they struck again in the Mount Clare Junction neighborhood on December 6th and 7th. Around sundown on the 6th it started with another fire at 2419 Christian St. Again units were getting ready to clear the scene when a dwelling fire was reported at 1646 hours on 526 Bentalou St. And then at 1744 hours another fire was set at 333 Furrow St. And again around midnight another storefront on W. Pratt St was set on fire. Around noon a vacant 3-story dwelling that had been the scene of a previous fire about two months ago was set on fire again.
In all around 20 fires were reported in the past week. Police and Fire Arson investigators ruled five of them definite arson and all of the others were still under investigation. One suspect was arrested for the Ramsay St. fire on December 2nd and another person was arrested on the 7th in connection with the Christian St. fire. There were only a few minor injuries to firefighters in all of these fires. And all of the fires occurred in vacant properties. This area has been plagued with over 100 fires in the past year.
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