More than 100 Baltimore City firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze in a historic building in the Hampden neighborhood Monday evening before containing the fire.
Firefighters responded just after 3:30 p.m. to the 3300 block of Keswick Road in North Baltimore for a fire in a three-story commercial building.
Fire officials said there were no injuries. Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. emergency crews were also on the scene.
Keswick Road will remain closed between 33rd and 34th streets throughout Tuesday morning, according to the Baltimore City Department of Transportation.
The historic building near the corner of 34th Street and Keswick Road, known as “The Castle,” is the former site of the city’s Northern District Police Station. The Victorian/French Renaissance structure dates to 1899 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen described the fire as “pretty serious” during a council meeting Monday night.
The blaze was contained to the third floor, Baltimore City Fire Department spokesperson John Marsh said Monday night. Because it is a historic building, fire crews set up a collapse zone to avoid any further damage or any potential injuries.
The roof of the building appeared to have extensive damage.
“We had heavy winds, and that was one of the challenges and the height of the building,” Marsh said, adding that crews were creating an area to reduce the chance of winds spreading the fire.
Teena Breanne said she had just left Flora Salon, a business housed in a building adjacent to The Castle, with her coworkers when they received news of the fire.
“We had just left to go to a happy hour, and the property manager had called and told us there was a fire,” Breanne said on Monday night from the scene, where she said she had been watching fire crews work for at least an hour.
Amy Petkovsek, executive director of Community Law Center, which is housed on the second floor of the building, said her staff evacuated the building when they heard the fire alarm Monday.
She said some employees of the nonprofit were waiting for transportation since some had vehicles in a parking lot connected to the building.
“We’re looking forward to working with the community to rebuild our office and our client files and support our team,” Petkovsek said about the center, which provides free legal help for neighborhoods.
Marsh said the blaze did not spread to nearby buildings. He said the cause is under investigation.
Carson Swick and Todd Karpovich contributed to this article. Have a news tip? Send it to nzimmerman@baltsun.com.
