Firefighter injured, 9 homes damaged in Canton fire

BALTIMORE -- Investigators are trying to determine what caused an early morning fire on Tuesday that damaged nine rowhomes in the Canton neighborhood and injured a Baltimore City firefighter.

None of the people living inside the homes were hurt, but 15 people were displaced.  The firefighter was hospitalized with minor injuries. 

Units responded to the fire around 3 a.m. at the 3000 block of South Hudson Street, where they found a home with fire showing and extending to neighboring homes. The fire went to 3-alarms.

"All of a sudden, we heard a lot of sirens going off," Rebecca Wood of Canton said. "… We knew something major was going on."

Crews worked fast to get it out.

"Our units go out for neighborhood familiarization," Baltimore City Fire Department Deputy Chief Khalilah Yancey said.  "So, the units in this area are very familiar and know where they need to park in case things like this arise."

In total, nine rowhomes and four rooftop decks were damaged. Some of the homes have been condemned.

First District Councilman Zeke Cohen said residents warned each other of the fire so that despite "significant structural damage," nobody was hurt. 

"The scene this morning was bleak, but neighbors showed resilience and compassion in taking care of each other," Cohen said in a social media post. "That is why I love representing this community."   

As the investigation into what caused the fire gets underway, neighbors are now focused on clean up.

"I'm just hoping that the victims of this are doing okay and all us neighbors will get together and do whatever we need to do," Wood said.

The American Red Cross informed WJZ that it is assisting five households impacted by the fire.

A local church is also helping out.

The fire department says it could take a while to determine the cause of this fire because so many homes were damaged.