4-Alarm Fells Point Fire Same Site As Previous 5-Alarm Blaze
BALTIMORE (WJZ)—More than 100 firefighters battled a massive fire after it broke out in Fells Point in the middle of the night. And it turns out it's an all too familiar scene.
Monqiue Griego has more on this building that went up in flames again.
Back in June the same building was gutted by a five-alarm fire. On Tuesday morning it went up again, and neighbors are wondering what the cause is.
Just before 4 a.m., massive flames shot in the sky over Fells Point. The raging fire and cloud of smoke that followed could be seen for miles.
"It just looked like a war zone. I mean, smoke was everywhere. All the roads were blocked off," said Keith McGinty, neighbor.
Dozens of fire units lined the 500 block of South Broadway as firefighters raced to get water on the flames. For them the scene at former Fresh Food Market was all too familiar.
In June, a five-alarm blaze destroyed the same building.
"It keeps repeating itself on a frequent basis, the fires around here," said Darren Jaworski, neighbor.
During the last fire, the building was so badly damaged that it left just a shell. That made conditions too dangerous for firefighters to fight the latest fire from the inside.
"Currently the rear of the building is being demolished. It's making this fire very labor intense for the firefighters to get to the seat of the fire," said Captain Roman Clark, Baltimore City Fire Department.
Heavy smoke and flames forced evacuations of nearby buildings.
Business owners like Chris Crocket grabbed what they could.
Their biggest concern now is "whether or not we're going to be able to get back open. They're showing the place is condemned for the time being," Crocket said.
Tuesday afternoon as firefighters continued to put out hotspots, Crocket and other neighbors were left wondering what the root of all this damage is.
"Nobody has given us any information as to what's going on," he said.
"I hope they can find the culprit and come up with a remedy to take care of these fires because this is Baltimore's history going up in smoke," Jaworski said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Firefighters say no injuries have been reported, and it could be some time before they're able to clear the scene.
