The long-vacant Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary/Middle School in northwest Baltimore lit up for all the wrong reasons Monday night, when flames broke out in the former campus perched above the Greenspring Avenue corridor. Firefighters rushed to the scene as fire poured from an upper-floor window and crews climbed ladders to attack the blaze. The building has sat empty since the district relocated its students, and officials have not yet released a cause or said whether anyone was injured.
According to CBS News Baltimore, crews were dispatched around 10 p.m. Monday to the former Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary/Middle School. Video from the scene shows flames shooting from a top-floor window while firefighters climbed a ladder to reach the upper level. CBS reports that it contacted the Baltimore City Fire Department for comment and notes that the campus was permanently closed in June 2020.
School history and closure
According to the Baltimore City Public Schools closure report, the Board of School Commissioners voted in January 2019 to close the school, and the district moved to surplus the building to the City of Baltimore in summer 2020. The report cites declining enrollment and chronic maintenance problems, including the site's hillside location, as reasons for the closure and transfer. The district lists the campus address as 3750 Greenspring Avenue, and records show the board adopted the revised timeline by a 9–0 vote.
Vacant buildings and arson risk
Vacant school buildings around the city have repeatedly been hit by vandalism and fires in recent years, raising questions about how quickly surplus properties can be secured or reused, The Baltimore Banner reports. That reporting found city agencies have increased funding for surplus school care but that many shuttered campuses remain vulnerable, with break-ins, stripped wiring and other damage common. Community members and city officials have repeatedly pushed for faster redevelopment or demolition to cut down on blight and reduce public safety hazards.
What officials say and what's next
Authorities have not released a cause for the Greenspring Avenue fire, and CBS News Baltimore reports that it has requested additional details from the Baltimore City Fire Department. Because the property was surplused to the city in 2020, municipal agencies, not the school system, are now responsible for securing the site and deciding on cleanup or redevelopment, according to the district's closure report. Neighbors and redevelopment advocates are likely to keep pressing for answers on the building's future as the investigation into the blaze moves forward.
