Firefighters battle massive three-alarm fire at abandoned mansion in West Baltimore

BALTIMORE - Nearly 100 firefighters battled a massive three-alarm fire at an abandoned Victorian mansion Monday evening in the Uplands community in West Baltimore.

Crews responded around 5:30 p.m. to the area of the 4500 block of Old Frederick Road where they saw the old structure fully engulfed in flames.

The mansion, built in 1920, is owned by the City of Baltimore, according to data from Open Baltimore.

Baltimore Fire Department spokesperson Kevin Cartwright said windy conditions presented a challenge in extinguishing the blaze.

No firefighters went inside the mansion. No injuries were reported. 

Firefighters used a ladder 100 feet in the air to attack the fire from above. Water supplies were established placing hand lines, monitor pipes and master streams in service to extinguish the fire.

"This is an old, old vacant structure," Cartwright said. "It certainly wouldn't be safe to gain entry so we are doing exterior operations."

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

"Due to the size of the structure, due to the intensity of the fire, it's impossible for us to have any sense where this fire started," Cartwright said. "There has been some interior collapse that we have observed and heard. Once it is safe to do so, our fire investigators will go in and make some preliminary assessments into what may have caused this fire."

A family with a home in the Uplands community saw flames shooting from the roof of the abandoned mansion. 

"I just see flames and my father came in the house talking about call 911, then he called 911," described Laveo Divers.