Three-alarm fire spreads to historic Howard Hotel in Elkton

BALTIMORE - A three-alarm fire that started behind an Elkton apartment complex spread to the historic Howard Hotel Sunday evening.

Fire officials told WJZ the fire started near the hotel in the 100 block of West Main Street. The fire then spread to the hotel, which is where Minihane's Irish Pub & Restaurant is located.

Firefighters worked for more than three hours to contain the fire, which "heavily damaged" the hotel. The total estimated damage is $1.5 million.

"This is a historic building," said Master Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire. "This building is probably has been here for over 100 years. It's very chopped up, for lack of a better word. There are multiple rooms in there. It's just been changed over the years. That makes it extremely difficult and sometimes very dangerous for our firefighters to go in there and try to extinguish the fire."

The cause of the fire is being investigated, but fire officials are looking to determine if it was started by a smoker.

No injuries have been reported.

Investigators have not yet said how much the hotel was damaged.

According to the Cecil Whig, the Howard Hotel was built back in the 1850s. 

"It has been used as a hotel, several different retail businesses, horse stables, apartments, a dentist office, a barbershop and most recently a restaurant," according to the Cecil Whig. 

The hotel hosted a presidential campaign reception in 1908 for William Howard Taft. 

In 1952, Richard Nixon gave a speech from the Howard House porch while campaigning for president.

In 2013, the Howard House bar and restaurant closed. It later reopened as Minihane's Irish Pub & Restaurant, according to the Cecil Whig.