3 firefighters dead and 1 hospitalized after collapse at burning home, MD officials say
Update: As of about 5:30 p.m. Jan. 24, officials said three of the firefighters had died after the South Stricker Street blaze. They were identified as Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter Kenny Lacayo and firefighter Kelsey Sadler. A fourth firefighter, John McMaster, was in a hospital in critical condition.
“This is a gut wrenching tragedy for our city, the Baltimore City Fire Department, and most importantly the families of our firefighters,” Mayor Brandon M. Scott wrote in a statement. “There are no words to describe the severity of the losses we have suffered today.”
Original story: A firefighter was trapped in a building and three others were taken to a hospital after they responded to a blaze in Maryland, officials said.
The Baltimore City Fire Department said the incident was unfolding at a vacant home on South Stricker Street early Monday, Jan. 24. Videos show a rowhouse with smoke and flames rising from it, according to footage from WBAL and reporter Scott Wykoff.
Officials responded to the fire before 6 a.m. and it later expanded to other three-story homes. There was a partial collapse, and trapped firefighters made several “mayday” calls, according to the Baltimore Firefighters IAFF Local 734 union.
Niles R. Ford, chief of the Baltimore City Fire Department, said four first responders were stuck, and one of them was quickly pulled out. The other firefighters were trapped for a longer time as crews tried to move debris, Ford wrote on Twitter at about noon ET.
A total of three firefighters were rescued and went to shock trauma hospital in serious condition, the fire department said, and a fourth firefighter remained trapped in the building, as of an update just before 9 a.m. ET.
“Our thoughts & prayers are with our Baltimore Local 734 family and the three fire fighters now at shock trauma after a structural collapse in an early morning house fire,” the International Association of Fire Fighters wrote in a Facebook post. “We are praying for the best possible outcome.”
This story was originally published January 24, 2022 at 9:01 AM with the headline "3 firefighters dead and 1 hospitalized after collapse at burning home, MD officials say."
