A vacant rowhouse on Baltimore's West Side went up in flames late Sunday morning, triggering a second alarm and drawing a heavy response from city firefighters to the 2900 block of Westwood Avenue.
The Baltimore City Fire Department said units rolled out shortly after 9:45 a.m. for what it classified as a Code X vacant dwelling fire. Because of the intensity of the blaze, crews quickly requested a second alarm and asked the public to steer clear of the area while they worked to contain it.
ACTIVE FIRE — shortly after 9:45 a.m., Baltimore City Fire Department units have responded to a Code X vacant dwelling fire in the 2900 block of Westwood Ave. Due to the severity of the incident, a second alarm has been requested. Updates will be provided as they become… pic.twitter.com/2cvfGuOZph
— Baltimore Fire (@BaltimoreFire) March 1, 2026
What A 'Code X' Really Means
Code X is the department's tag for structures considered too unstable for interior firefighting. When that label goes on a building, crews are generally restricted to exterior operations unless they have credible evidence that someone is inside.
The department tightened that approach after the deadly 2022 Stricker Street collapse, and FireRescue1 summed up the safety rule in plain language: “We do enter vacants, we do not enter Code X.”
Response On Westwood Avenue
In its initial alert, Baltimore Fire said companies arrived on scene shortly after 9:45 a.m. and immediately called for a second alarm on the 2900 block of Westwood Avenue. The department stressed that people should avoid the area while firefighters remained at work.
According to the Baltimore City Fire Department, the agency serves roughly 620,000 residents across about 92 square miles and answers more than 235,000 calls each year. Multi-alarm incidents like this one tap into that wider pool of personnel and equipment, which can mean significant disruption in the immediate neighborhood while the operation is underway.
Investigation And Broader Context
Officials did not release any information on injuries or a possible cause in the initial alert. Fire investigators typically dig into utility records, witness statements and physical evidence at the scene to pinpoint where and how a fire started.
In past vacant-building fires, investigators have sometimes uncovered signs that people were staying inside despite the buildings being listed as empty, and some of those high-profile blazes have led to policy changes within the department, as The Baltimore Sun has reported.
Baltimore Fire said updates on the Westwood Avenue incident would be shared as they become available. In the meantime, neighbors are urged to honor the department's request to keep clear of the block while crews finish their work and investigators sort through what is left.
