A Baltimore City Council law meant to keep unauthorized people away from active fire scenes is now at the center of a dispute involving the very councilwoman who sponsored it. Restoration contractors say Odette Ramos has used her presence at fire scenes to steer homeowners away from their companies, allegations she denies, while a restoration company owner has filed an ethics complaint and sent her a cease-and-desist letter.
Ordinance 25-046, signed into law on October 23, 2025, restricts access to barricaded emergency scenes and gives the fire chief or a designee authority over the emergency perimeter, according to WJLA. The law allows victims, relatives, city personnel and city officials to enter the perimeter, and the outlet reports it carries penalties of up to a $500 fine or 60 days in jail, or both — though WMAR-2 News has separately reported the penalty as a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail. As reported by WMAR-2 News, the Baltimore City Council gave final approval to the measure last October, a response to a fire on Keswick Road that destroyed 10 homes and killed two people, after survivors were approached by restoration companies offering to board up what remained of their properties.
Contractors Say Ramos Intercepted Them at Fire Scenes
Restoration contractors have accused Ramos of interfering with their businesses, per the same WJLA report. William Karaberis, a restoration company owner, said encounters with Ramos and her employees occurred repeatedly in her district, and he said she appeared at a majority of fires there. He questioned her involvement at fire scenes, as did Borden Chase, who said Ramos intercepted contractors directly. Contractors told the outlet Ramos confronted them at fire scenes and discouraged residents from immediately hiring restoration companies, and one contractor alleged she steered homeowners toward other providers.
A Baltimore homeowner said she was troubled by her own interaction with Ramos following a home fire, telling the outlet Ramos denied there was damage to the house. Karaberis said roughly seven restoration and public-adjusting companies are challenging the law itself, arguing the measure violates contractors’ commercial free speech. The city has sent Karaberis’s attorney a cease-and-desist letter, and the ordinance is being challenged in court, according to the same account.
Ramos Denies Steering Business, Calls Complaint Invalid
Ramos has denied the contractors’ allegations and specifically denied redirecting business from one company to another or referring residents to other companies. She said she refers residents only to city services, not private companies, and that she tells residents at fires to call their insurance company first. “People should get all the information they deserve before making decisions,” she said, adding that officials try to ensure everyone is safe and informed before residents make choices about their homes.
The restoration company owner who filed the ethics complaint also sent Ramos a cease-and-desist letter, but the Baltimore City Ethics Board decided not to move forward with the complaint, the outlet reports. Ramos said the complaint was not valid and said she is protecting residents at a vulnerable moment. She has written that the emergency-scene measure was not targeted toward one industry or individual, characterizing it instead as a safety measure.
A Retired Fire Official Backs Her Account
William Raab, who served 35 years with the Baltimore City Fire Department, remembered seeing Ramos alongside residents at a Keswick Road fire and said he saw her take a board-up contractor into a house. Raab said firefighters are prohibited from showing favoritism and are not allowed to refer companies to anyone, per the WJLA account.
Separately, Councilwoman Ramos has told WMAR-2 News that while concerns about restoration-company approaches were the momentum behind the original bill, conversations with the fire department made clear the measure was really about keeping everybody safe. She told CBS News Baltimore that people do not like being approached in a predatory and harassing way, particularly when they are going through a crisis — the same outlet reports the bill allows emergency responders to set up a perimeter that keeps restoration crews and others out of active fire scenes until the scenes are deemed safe.
Opponents Warn of Insurance Complications
Opponents of the broader restriction have raised a separate concern: most insurance policies require homeowners to secure their homes quickly to prevent further loss, WMAR-2 News has reported. Karaberis has also noted that mold can grow within 24 to 48 hours after fire or water damage, underscoring why restoration companies argue speed matters. On September 28, the Baltimore City Council adopted a resolution, sponsored by Ramos, declaring that the ordinance's purpose is to protect the health, safety and welfare of residents and first responders.
Ramos has said she expects Maryland's General Assembly to take up a similar issue when the 2026 legislative session begins, according to CBS News Baltimore. With a court challenge to the ordinance already underway and the ethics dispute lingering in the background, the fight over who gets access to Baltimore's fire scenes — and who gets to decide — is far from settled.
