NEWS ALERT: A city already struggling with failing infrastructure was impacted by a huge 7-alarm fire that ripped through a mattress warehouse.
Watch the video down below.
The alarming incident was so massive that it required more than 200 firefighters to battle the blaze in Baltimore.
The fire exposed severe water pressure problems in the aging Democrat-run city, further hampering emergency services during the crisis.
The fire erupted at a multi-story mattress warehouse near North Bentalou Street and Edmondson Avenue in West Baltimore.
What started as a routine fire call quickly escalated to a 7-alarm emergency, overwhelming the city’s resources and forcing officials to bring in support from surrounding counties and even BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace acknowledged what many residents have long complained about: the city’s crumbling infrastructure could not handle the emergency.
Wallace stated, “We have had some water pressure issues in the area. This is a residential area, so a lot of the water mains here are six-inch mains.”
“So, we’re at a point now where our fire flows have exceeded a lot of what the water grid has. Additional apparatus has been brought in,” he added.
“This has become a bigger city operation now,” Wallace admitted as the fire overwhelmed local resources and required coordination between multiple agencies.
These included the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, the MTA, Baltimore Police Department arson investigators, and the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Wallace described the warehouse as “stacked full” of mattresses, which created unique challenges for firefighters.
The structure’s multiple underground levels made access difficult, forcing crews to adopt a defensive strategy and position themselves on nearby rooftops to fight the flames from above.
After several hours, the fire was downgraded from seven to three alarms after being contained in the original building. Still, the ripple effects extended far beyond the immediate area.
The warehouse’s proximity to Amtrak tracks disrupted train service between Wilmington and Washington, D.C.
It required crews to de-energize overhead lines and halt MARC and Amtrak services, inconveniencing thousands of commuters.
The fire displaced 15 households who are now being assisted by the Red Cross with temporary hotel accommodations.
Meanwhile, environmental officials warned residents to avoid the area and move indoors if they were affected by the smoke, which was so intense it appeared on Doppler radar, with winds pushing it north toward Druid Hill.
Firefighters faced additional complications with the discovery that the warehouse contained “deep-seated subsurface fire” that would require extensive work to fully extinguish.
“It’s such a smoky fire,” Wallace explained as crews worked to locate and eliminate hotspots throughout the structure.
This emergency comes on the heels of another fire earlier in downtown Baltimore that injured two firefighters, one critically.
The two incidents have raised questions about the city’s ability to handle multiple major incidents simultaneously with its aging infrastructure and limited resources.
Though Mayor Brandon Scott described the response as “an all-hands-on-deck effort,” the need to truck in water and rely on outside support highlights the persistent infrastructure problems plaguing the city.
Additionally, Baltimore Police Department helicopters provided aerial reconnaissance to check for potential structural collapse, though no imminent danger was detected.
Initial reports suggested a car might have entered the building before the fire started, but this has not been confirmed and the cause remains under investigation.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the 200+ firefighting personnel who worked through to contain the blaze.
Weather conditions, including rain in the forecast, were expected to aid in the firefighting efforts as crews continued their work.
