Several Families Displaced After Massive Fire Engulfs Dundalk Rowhomes
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A three-alarm fire Sunday morning ripped through three rowhomes in Baltimore County, and now three families have been displaced.
Baltimore County Fire crews arrived in the unit block of Highshire Ct. in Dundalk around 10:30 a.m. Firefighters were met with fire, flames and smoke.
"They had heavy fire conditions, so that indicates that the fire probably spread pretty rapidly," says Baltimore County Fire Capt. Tom Rostkowski.
The fast-moving fire started in one house then jumped to two others. Crews sprayed water onto all three homes, and the wet surfaces quickly froze over in the low temperatures, which created a safety hazard for firefighters.
"I came from church and I couldn't get to my house. Everything was blocked -- fire, ambulances. And I came and I saw the house and it was just heartbreaking, just heartbreaking," neighbor Tina Harris said.
Crews worked for hours to contain the flames, but the damage was already done.
"I was out here when the porch collapsed, and we went to go get the car when the roof collapsed, so I missed that part. But I wanted to double check that nobody was injured," says Dawn McNeal, a witness to the incident.
The people who live in the houses were home at the time, but they all escaped and managed to save their pets from the flames. The closeness of the rowhomes may have made the fire more destructive.
"Because there is a common attic space that connects all of these rowhomes, the fire was able to get up inside of that before crews got here. it made its way across that space into two additional dwellings," Rostkowski said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
One person was taken to the hospital with burns to their hands, according to firefighters on scene.
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