12-Alarm Baltimore Fire Spread by Flying Brands
A spectacular 12-alarm fire that began in a vacant school and spread to a vacant hotel a block away and a church more than two blocks away was recently fought by 42 Baltimore City engine companies and 15 truck companies, as well as mutual aid units from Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties.
The first alarm was sounded at 1:02 p.m. last Oct. 17 when a street box was activated at Howard and Centre Sts. Because this box was the source of numerous false alarms, the initial response consisted of two engines and two t rucks. Immediately after arrival at the box, Engine 7 located the fire in the old Bay College and requested that the rest of the normal first-alarm assignment be dispatched.
The Bay College building was built in 1895 with some additions in 1899. It had wood floors on iron beams supported by iron columns. The walls were brick and masonry. The roof consisted of asphalt shingles on wood planks supported by heavy wooden trusses. The building was U-shaped with good fire walls between sections. The height of the building varied by section.
Fire origin
The origin of the fire is believed to have been in the vacant library on the top floor on the Howard St. side. The top floor in this wing had a ceiling height equal to two stories. There was approximately 3300 square feet of area per floor in the Howard St. side of the building.
As requested by Engine 7, the remainder of the first-alarm assignment was dispatched. At street level there was surprisingly little evidence of the fire although smoke could be seen pushing against the still intact windows on the top floor. As Battalion Chief Michael Dalton approached the scene, he noted heavy smoke emanating from a stair door on the roof toward the rear of the building. After sizing up the situation, he requested a second alarm at 1:08 and, fearing that a backdraft was imminent, proceeded into the building to order personnel to evacuate.
He noted an unusually strong updraft inside the stairwell. It was so strong that it had blown one fire fighter’s helmet off his head and into the fire. As the retreating companies reached the second floor landing, the feared backdraft occurred knocking several men off their feet but not’ seriously injuring anyone. A second, smaller backdraft explosion was also heard.
The fire situation now changed dramatically. The backdraft had blown through the roof and, of course, all the windows were now blown out. The fire had vented itself top and bottom and was now burning vigorously. Large burning embers were being carried by a wind which was blowing toward the northeast, at an average speed of 18 mph with strong gusts. To the northeast of the fire building was the one-story Greyhound Bus Terminal, a row of small shops along Howard St., and the Maryland Historical Society museum on Monument St. As brands landed on shop awnings, rooftops, and cars, men and equipment were deployed to extinguish these secondary fires. Additional alarms were struck out at 1:12, 1:15, 1:24, 1:30, 1:38 and 1:44.
Chief Peter J. O’Connor had been appointed chief of department in July and this was his first major blaze since taking office. He left headquarters for the fireground when the first arriving units at Bay College identified the fire building and the extent of the fire. He arrived on the fireground soon after Dalton had arrived with the first-alarm units. After conferring with Dalton and Deputy Chief Clyde J. Smith of the 1st Division, O’Connor assumed command of the fireground.
With much of the city’s equipment and personnel committed, and in view of the possibility that the situation could further deteriorate, mutual aid was requested from Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties. Anne Arundel dispatched five engines and three trucks and Baltimore County sent four engines. Initially dispatched to fill in stations, some of these units were eventually dispatched to the church fire.
The fire burning through the Bay College roof was sending up dense clouds of smoke. The billowing smoke, many sirens, and news bulletins drew crowds of onlookers. Howard St., a major thoroughfare, was blocked by hose and apparatus operating at Bay College and along Howard St. Emergency vehicles, onlookers and detoured local traffic were involved in massive traffic jams on nearby streets. A staging area was established several blocks away from Bay College to facilitate the deployment of apparatus, but vehicular movement in the area, by emergency vehicles or anything else, was very slow.
Second fire reported
At approximately 1:53, fire fighters operating on rooftops along Howard St. north of the fire reported smoke from an apparent building fire on Monument St. Further investigation revealed that the smoke was coming from the Sherwood Hotel, approximately 600 feet northeast of Bay College. The vacant hotel was a brick and wood-joist structure which had three stories plus a basement. The hotel had been the scene of two previous fires, the last of which had burned through much of the roof. The building had not been repaired. Apparently brands had entered the Sherwood through the damaged roof and ignited rubble from the previous fire.
First arriving units found heavy fire conditions on two floors with fire through the roof. The west side of the Sherwood was bounded by Tyson St., but on the east side was a continuous row of dwellings reaching to Park Ave. Across from the Sherwood on Monument St. was the Maryland Historical Society, where employees had closed the building to visitors and were busy wetting down the roofs because of embers from Bay College. A second-alarm assignment was needed to control the fire in the Sherwood, but there was no extension beyond the hotel.
At approximately 1:56, as companies were negotiating their way through jammed streets to the Sherwood Hotel, a fire was reported in the eaves of the First Presbyterian Church at W. Madison St. and Park Ave. The church was approximately 1000 feet northeast of Bay College and approximately 500 feet northeast of the Sherwood Hotel. Brands from one of these buildings ignited the .vood supporting the slate roof on the gothic style church although it is far from certain exactly how this occurred. The church had a 260-foot spire and two smaller spires approximately 60 feet high. The fire, however, did not involve the spires but was located in the rear of the building at the peak of the tall, steep roof. It was extremely difficult to gain access to the fire from either the roof or the interior of the building. A second-alarm assignment was needed to extinguish this blaze.
Master streams used
The Bay College fire resulted in severe damage to the roof, the collapse of several floors and falling cornices. Unable to operate inside or on the roof, the fire was fought from aerial apparatus and from the street, using master streams and hand lines. The fire, which began on the Howard St. side of the U-shaped building, was traveling along the roof and had entered the Centre St. side.
From the standpoint of radiant heat, Howard St. and Centre St. provided good fire breaks, but the uninvolved side of the U faced narrow, cobblestone Academy Alley. Aside from being a poor fire break, Academy Alley was much too narrow to permit men and equipment to safely operate. Along the alley opposite Bay College was a row of old buildings with residential and mercantile occupancies. Parts of these buildings were vacant and one had been seriously damaged by a previous fire.
O’Connor feared that if the fire traveled to the Academy Alley side of the college, the entire row of shops and houses would be endangered and if this occurred, it would not be possible to put men in the alley between the buildings.
Interior defense
In view of these circumstances, O’Connor and Dalton accompanied a crew equipped with ceiling hooks and hose lines to the gymnasium on the top floor of the college at the Centre St. and Academy Alley corner. As the fire burned along the roof toward them, the ceiling was pulled down over a large area to provide good access for hose streams. At one point, this crew was forced to evacuate the building when a partial collapse occurred. They returned however and successfully halted extension of the fire. Although the roof was burned off on the Centre St. side, there were no major collapses and, except for the roof, there was little fire damage in this section.
The fire, now contained on the Howard St. side, was knocked down at approximately 5:30 p.m., 4½ hours after the initial alarm. Units continued to operate at Bay College throughout the night and the following day as pockets of fire, concealed by the collapsed rubble, resisted extinguishment. Despite extensive damage to the Howard St. side of the building and the loss of the roof on the Centre St. side, the developers are continuing with their plans to repair and renovate the building.
The fire in the Sherwood Hotel was contained after an aggressive effort. Because the building had been severely damaged in the previous fire and because units arriving for this incident found the upper two floors fully involved, it was not feasible to conduct interior fire fighting. The building was damaged beyond repair and is being demolished.
Church damage limited
The fire in the church roof posed a real challenge. Although the volume of fire was not large, there was considerable potential. Operating on the steep slate roof was hazardous and working inside was cramped, hot and smoky. Although the structure was not seriously damaged, a priceless collection of church music was badly damaged and the chapel suffered water damage.
The Bay College fire was determined to have been deliberately set. A suspect was arrested who had a previous arson conviction and was free on bail on another arson charge.
One noteworthy aspect of this fire was that there were no serious injuries. This was remarkable because of the volume of fire and the number of personnel involved (approximately 280). At Bay College, fire fighters had to contend with a backdraft explosion, partial collapse of the building and debris falling from the roof during much of the fire.
At the Sherwood Hotel, fire fighters were faced with a large volume of fire in a building that had already been damaged by a previous fire. At the church fire, some fire fighters were working on the steep roof while others worked inside the cramped, hot area immediately under the peak of the roof. The most serious injury at any of the fires was a lacerated finger.
