Baltimore Firefighters Battle 3-Alarm Fire At Vacant 7-Story Building
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Firefighters battled a three-alarm fire Thursday morning at a seven-story building in West Baltimore, authorities said.
The fire was reported before 10 a.m. at a vacant building near the corner of Willard and Lombard streets, the Baltimore City Fire Department said.
The fire department said crews found fire and heavy smoke coming from the building upon arrival, and they're fighting the fire from the outside.
Shortly before 10:30 a.m., the fire department said crews had made progress in their efforts to put the flames out. No other update was provided.
Firefighters on scene told WJZ three alarms were called for the fire because crews initially had an issue with water access.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
The vacant building was once a brewery owned by the Henry Eigenbrot Brewing Company during the era when Baltimore was known for its beer-brewing industry. The Eigenbrot Brewery was founded in 1873 and built by Ferdinand Joh, according to the Maryland Historical Trust.
State agency's records show that it was remodeled to accommodate a refrigeration system "to expedite the cooling of the wort" in 1890s. Wort is the infusion of ground malt or grain prior to fermentation.
In 1896 and 1897, the brewery expanded to accommodate a new brewhouse and cold storage warehouse, according to state records. In the following decade, three new structures were added to house distribution facilities.
"Baltimore was a major brewing center in the nineteenth century, partly because of its large German population (and appeal to new German immigrants) and also because of its ready supply of grain," according to state records. "By the late nineteenth century there were dozens of small, independently owned breweries. The industry remained a prosperous one until Prohibition crippled it in 1920. Brewery architecture, the only remains of this once thriving industry, with its romantic, Germanic character and elaborate decoration, has given Baltimore some of its most interesting industrial structures. The Eigenbrot brewery in Southwest Baltimore, founded in 1873 and remodeled in 1896, is an excellent example of brewery architecture.
