Baltimore County police are warning drivers to expect traffic delays in parts of Baltimore and Baltimore County Monday afternoon as mourners turn out for the funeral of a volunteer firefighter, who died trying to save residents of a burning apartment complex.
Police say delays could start around 12:15 p.m. as people leave services at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen at 5200 N. Charles St. in North Baltimore and proceed to Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium. Traffic could be affected until as late as 5 p.m., police said.
The procession will head north on North Charles Street, west on Northern Parkway and north on Interstate 83, staying on the highway as it merges with Interstate 695 and continues north, and then will exit on eastbound Padonia Road, which it will follow to the cemetery at 200 E. Padonia Road. "No parking" signs will be posted on Padonia Road east of the cemetery entrance.
Police also expect congestion on York Road and suggest drivers instead take Pot Spring Road, Dulaney Valley Road, Thornton Road or Falls Road. They did not have an estimate of the number of vehicles that could be in the funeral procession.
Mark Gray Falkenhan, 43, a member of the Secret Service who volunteered with the Lutherville Volunteer Fire Company, died in an apartment blaze last week in the Hillendale area.
The father of two worked as a career firefighter in Baltimore County for 16 years before taking the federal job in 2006. Colleagues remembered him as a "firefighter's firefighter" who excelled at all aspects of the job.
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