Neighbors come together to raise funds for victims of deadly Hampden fire

BALTIMORE -- Blue Pit BBQ on Union Avenue was packed Sunday night as community members raised money for the families devastated by last week's deadly fire on Keswick Road in Hampden.

Libby Francis and her colleagues with the Hampden Village Merchants Association. along with the Hampden Community Council. jumped into action to help.

"It's devastating. I can't even imagine how traumatic it must have been," said Libby Francis, owner of The Modest Florist and Vice President of the Merchants Association. 

Francis said several of her customers were among the victims and they were "shellshocked."

"Through a series of emails on Tuesday night, we figured out a date and time and how we would go about doing it, and here we are," Francis said.

There was more than $12,500 worth of goods and services at the silent auction upstairs. All of the money will help those who lost everything when flames ripped through 10 homes.

Blue Pit BBQ also donated its Sunday night proceeds. 

"We just want to make sure folks are taken care of in dire times because we would want someone to do that for us," said Christie Moore.

Moore said it was vital for the community to come together and help those left without a home. 

Donations may also be made at the Truist Bank branch in Hampden.

"We really wanted to support the families the fire affected," Moore said. "This is a neighborhood where we care about each other and we come out, we show up and we want to make sure those families are taken care of in times of need."

Aftermath of the fire

The fire killed Matthew and Kathy Schmale, both 63, grandparents and fixtures in the community. 

The cause remains under investigation. 

Sunday evening, fencing was up along the 3400 block of Keswick Road and the air still smelled like smoke. A fire alarm was going off in one of the damaged rowhomes. 

At a Friday vigil, neighbor Susan Linde told WJZ she credits her smoke alarm with saving her life.