More than a dozen row homes were damaged in a three-alarm fire early Tuesday in East Baltimore.
Baltimore fire crews responded around 3:45 a.m. to a fire in the 100 block of South Eaton Street in the Baltimore Highlands neighborhood east of Patterson Park. When they arrived, fire crews reported heavy smoke and fire coming from three of the two-story row homes. The fire spread across the upper level of the homes, ultimately traveling through the entire block of 14 homes, according to fire spokesman Samuel Johnson.
No injuries were reported, and initial damage was estimated to be $200,000, Johnson said.
"Fortunately with a fire of this magnitude we didn't experience any civilian or firefighter injuries," Johnson said.
A disaster action team from the American Red Cross assisted 31 residents displaced by the fire, meeting one-on-one with each of the 14 families to assess needs of food, clothing and lodging, as needed, spokeswoman Brittany Fowler said.
Casework volunteers will follow up with each family to help "create and execute a recovery plan" and address any additional needs that arise, Fowler said.
Arson investigators from the police department are assisting in determining the cause, according to Johnson.
The fire was elevated to a second alarm at 4:07 a.m., and a third alarm at 4:32 a.m., Johnson said.
Johnson said more than 100 firefighters responded, with "30 plus" pieces of fire apparatus at the scene.
BGE had been replacing natural gas pipelines in the area, but spokesman Justin Mulcahy said the job was not related to the fire.