Baltimore House Fire That Left 9 Injured Now Being Investigated As Arson
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The fire that left nine people, including three children, injured overnight Sunday is now being investigated as arson, Baltimore City Fire said Monday.
Three children, two Baltimore City Police officers and four other adults were injured after a fire broke out around 1 a.m. Sunday in the 5100 block of Plainfield Ave.
"We had people hanging from the side windows of the building," Fire Chief Roman Clark said.
Hours before the fire, police said they got a call for a reported case of larceny at the home. Officers didn't find any evidence of larceny at the time.
Sunday morning, they got another call for a family disturbance and destruction of property at the same house, and when officers arrived they found a fire.
"The smoke was really coming from the windows so you could see it," neighbor Taykonya Cheeks said.
The family of the children injured in the fire said the boys are in the hospital. The family is overcome with grief but said without the babysitter's quick thinking, the situation could have been much worse.
Calvin Bethea said his nephew and two cousins wouldn't have made it out alive if not for their babysitter, with whom the children were staying at the time.
"She threw the kids out the window to save them and she put her own life on the line, she's a hero," Bethea said.
In a statement, the police department echoed the family's praise of the babysitter and also praised its officers:
"Sunday morning, our officers helped to rescue several family members during a house fire, including three small children. Their actions are a testament of their valor and shows that they went above and beyond their call of duty, to help save lives. If not for the quick thinking of the babysitter, the house fire could have ended in tragedy. The officers decisions to put their lives at risk, truly exemplifies all that our department stands for. I am proud of the actions that these officers took and their bravery."
Officials are trying to figure out who may have started the blaze.
