Photos: Baltimore Firefighters Battle Seven-Alarm Warehouse Blaze

A massive Monday night fire has been contained to its original warehouse building in West Baltimore after drawing a response of about 200 firefighters, officials say.

The fire was contained as of around 7 a.m. Tuesday and has been downgraded from seven to three alarms, with fire personnel chasing hot spots and deep-seated fire in multiple areas, a spokesperson said.

There have been no reports of injuries, according to the Baltimore City Fire Department.

The multistory mattress warehouse is at the intersection of Edmondson Avenue and North Bentalou Street. The hundreds of firefighters were mainly attacking the fire from the exterior Monday night and brought in special equipment as the blaze escalated from two to seven alarms, Chief of Fire Department James Wallace said.

The public was advised to avoid the area Monday night, and fire officials said residents were being relocated from their homes on Bentalou Street

Wallace said the relocation would allow firefighters to access positions to engage the fire from behind some of the homes. He described the fire was emanating from two basement levels of the warehouse “stacked full of mattresses.”

The Red Cross said it was working with 15 households on the affected block, according to a news release. The residents will be temporarily housed in a hotel by the city.

Wallace said the fire was extremely smoky. “I’m sure the whole northwest side of the city is, you know, seeing and smelling the smoke, just a tremendous amount of smoke back there,” he said.

The Maryland Department of the Environment warned residents to stay inside with windows closed and to avoid breathing the smoke.

Firefighters received multiple calls before 7 p.m. to the warehouse, with the first units arriving by 6:58 p.m. Wallace said the warehouse contains different storage areas with a large amount of mattresses. He said there were initial reports that a car might have gone into the building, and fire investigators were looking into it but could not immediately confirm.

“The challenge has been getting into the seat of this fire, given the size of the building, the size of the fire, we’re having to be very cautious, very meticulous as we move in there,” Wallace said.

The fire chief said he was aware of reports of explosions and booms in the area but did not know the cause.

Because the fire is in a residential area, fighting the fire has strained the immediate water grid, Wallace said, leading the department to bring in water from other, larger water mains.

Adding to the concern is the eastern side of the building, which abuts the nearby Amtrak line. The department worked with Amtrak to de-energize overhead train lines, he said. MARC and Amtrak service was affected.

Baltimore Police Department arson investigators and the fire department’s investigators were present, alongside the city’s Department of Public Works, Department of Transportation and Office of Emergency Management, he said.

Baltimore County resources were helping the city’s fire department, Wallace said. BWI-Thurgood Marshall Airport provided a tower ladder. Another tower ladder was in use from outside of the city, but Wallace did not know what agency it was from when he spoke with the media Monday night.

“This is why we train for these things and these moments,” said Mayor Brandon Scott, who appeared on scene with Wallace. Scott called the fire response “an all-hands-on-deck effort.”

The Baltimore Police Department’s helicopter unit provided aerial reconnaissance on the warehouse’s rooftop looking for signs of potential collapse, according to the fire chief. There was no sign of imminent collapse, he said.

The warehouse fire comes after a blaze in downtown Baltimore earlier Monday injured two firefighters. Both were hospitalized after battling a single-alarm blaze at a salon, according to city fire officials. One of the firefighters was listed in critical condition.

This story will be updated.

Baltimore Sun reporter Todd Karpovich contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Contact Racquel Bazos at [email protected], 443-813-0770 or on X as @rzbworks.

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