Deadly house fire prompts neighborhood sweep in Waverly as BCFD seeks to prevent future tragedies
BALTIMORE — More than 24 hours after a deadly house fire in Baltimore's Waverly neighborhood, firefighters returned to the scene for a neighborhood sweep.
Saturday afternoon, members of the Baltimore City Fire Department went door-to-door on E 38th Street checking if residents had working smoke alarms.
It comes after crews found a 63-year-old woman dead inside a home following the fire. A Baltimore fire spokesperson said the department can say three homes were directly impacted by the fire.
The scene had Lutondar Hicks and other residents shaken up.
"This is hard, really hard to process this," she said. "It's really devastating."
Hicks is staying at a hotel after flames from a home on the street spread to her house just a couple of doors down. Hicks said it caused significant damage to her home.
"Fire on the roof," she said. "All this water in the bathroom. All this water in the front room, dining room, upstairs."
"You can't replace your life..."
The fire spokesperson said as of December 20, the city has had at least 16 fire fatalities in 2024. There were a total of 19 in 2023.
The latest research from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) shows the risk of dying in a home fire is cut by 60% when working smoke alarms are present in homes. The association adds roughly three out of five deaths happen in homes where there are no smoke alarms, or the system isn't working.
"You can't replace your life," Hicks said. "This is going to be taken care of."
The NFPA encourages you to follow these safety tips:
- Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. Install alarms in the basement
- It is best to use interconnected smoke alarms so that when one smoke alarm sounds, they all sound
- Test all smoke alarms at least once a month. Press the test button to be sure the alarm is working
- A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire
- Working smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan
