A stubborn fire at a warehouse in Baltimore had first responders stepping back for an exterior attack on the flames as they disrupted a major passenger rail line along the Mid-Atlantic coast.
The fire in west Baltimore was reported shortly before 7 p.m., and it quickly escalated in scale from 4-alarm, to 5-alarm, the Baltimore Fire Department said in a series of statements on social media. By around 1 a.m., it was seven alarms.
"Fire crews continue to contain the fire," the fire department said early Tuesday. Around 30 people were evacuated from the area, it said.
More than 200 firefighters were assigned to the blaze, Fire Chief James W. Wallace told reporters Monday night.
The department characterized the location as a vacant mattress warehouse with multiple stories.
No injuries have been reported.
The number of alarms correlates to a larger number of firefighters sent to a blaze. In all of 2021, the city said in a report on fire resources, the department responded to one each for third, fourth and fifth-alarm fires. No sixth-alarm or greater fires were reported.
Wallace said the fire department was told the building has two underground floors stacked with mattresses, which may be providing fuel. Three other floors are above ground, he said.
"What we’re dealing with now is a deep-seated subsurface fire," the chief said during an impromptu news conference near the blaze. "What we’re trying to do is cut it off."
NBC affiliate WBAL of Baltimore reported that the firefight was aided by water trucked to the location.
Video of the blaze aired on the station showed a red brick building with windows offering interior views of a glowing cauldron of orange-tinged flames.
Firefighters took defensive positions on the rooftops of nearby row houses, the station's coverage showed.
"It's such a smoky fire," Wallace said earlier in the evening, during WBAL's coverage. "We're trying to approach this the right way, obviously safely."
The warehouse is adjacent to a major passenger rail corridor between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and Amtrak said trains along the line will be paused until conditions improve.
The Baltimore Fire Department said it was working toward restoring Amtrak service by 2:30 a.m.
The fire was in the 130-year-old Midtown-Edmondson neighborhood on the west side of the city. The fire department requested that people avoid the area near Edmondson Avenue and Bantalou Street.
The Red Cross said late Monday that it was assisting people in 15 households that have been evacuated due to the fire, and that it would work with the city to provide aid in the days and weeks ahead.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
