Posted on 12/08/24
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Dec. 8, 2024 - It’s been 48 hours since a massive fire at Camp Small brought hundreds of firefighters to Baltimore to help battle the blaze.
Firefighters remained at the scene Saturday night, dousing a smoldering pile of wood with water.
“This is what the Baltimore City Fire Department does, and I’m happy to say they do this well,” said Kevin Cartwright, a former spokesman for the Baltimore City Fire Department.
The massive inferno at Camp Small that started Thursday evening certainly tested their mettle. Cartwright applauds their efforts to successfully bring the fire under control.
“You have to methodically attack a fire like this, utilizing a best practice of trying to surround and drown while there are no other life elements a part of this incident and utilizing ladder pipes, monitor pipes, hand lines,” Cartwright explained.
Cartwright told 11 News the conditions that night made the firefighters’ job much harder. included high winds that spread the flames and frigid temperatures that made the job more dangerous for firefighters. The fire was contained Saturday night but was still smoldering.
Cartwright said, many times, in situations like this, they will do around-the-clock fire watch.
“They will have fire apparatus positioned near the fire itself and they will continue to monitor visibly and physically whether there are any re-ignitions of the fire,” Cartwright told 11 News.
Investigators from the fire marshal’s office haven’t started to determine what started the blaze because the fire has to be completely out before they can get to the scene to start an investigation.
“They will sift through those charred remains — logs, wood, debris — and try to methodically identify what potential ignition sources could be in that immediate area. They’ll take some samples, take them to the lab, and try to determine exactly what caused the fire,” Cartwright told 11 News.
Fire officials said they don’t have any kind of timeline yet for when they will be able to leave the scene.