A two-alarm fire tore through three attached row homes in Hampden on Saturday evening, sending two firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries and leaving one house confirmed unoccupied as investigators sort through the damage.
Fire crews were called out shortly after 5 p.m. to the 800 block of W. 37th Street, where they arrived to find smoke pouring from a two-story row home and quickly requested backup as the blaze began to spread to neighboring properties. The flames ultimately extended into two adjacent houses, triggering a second alarm and a heavier response while firefighters worked to keep the fire from jumping further down the tightly packed block. The cause remains under investigation.
What officials said
According to FOX45, the Baltimore City Fire Department said units were dispatched shortly after 5 p.m. to the 800 block of W. 37th Street and found a two-story row home with smoke showing. The department told the outlet that the fire spread into two neighboring row homes, which led to a second alarm and the call for additional units.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries while battling the blaze and were taken to local hospitals for treatment, the department said. Officials also confirmed that one of the affected homes was unoccupied at the time of the fire. The Office of the Fire Marshal has opened an investigation into the origin and cause.
Hampden's recent fire pattern
Saturday’s fire lands in the middle of a rough stretch for Hampden. The neighborhood has seen multiple damaging fires in the past year, including a series of blazes on and near Keswick Road that resulted in arson charges last fall, as reported by The Banner.
Neighbors told reporters those earlier incidents have left residents on edge, while city leaders said repeated fires have made it harder for blocks of attached row homes to bounce back. Firefighters have also warned that close lot lines and shared walls in neighborhoods like Hampden can allow flames to spread quickly from house to house, which makes fast mutual-aid responses critical when a call comes in.
On local community message boards, neighbors and witnesses shared their own accounts of Saturday’s blaze, describing heavy smoke near 37th and Chestnut and crews working from rooftops, according to online posts. The Office of the Fire Marshal will determine the official origin and cause after investigators finish processing the scene and interviewing residents.
