Md. fire marshal raises alarm over death toll
“Forty-some people in the first three months, that’s a huge, huge discrepancy for us.” 31 people died in fires in the state from January to March, double the number during the same period last year
On the side of every Baltimore firehouse, a white sign adorned with flames presents a stark record: 10 people dead in fires already in 2023.
The count serves as a reminder of how lethal fires can be, a reality that city and state officials seek to emphasize since Maryland experienced more deaths in the first quarter of this year than in the same period each year for the past two decades.
It’s typical to see more fatal fires in the winter months when people use heaters and other appliances to stay warm. However, 31 people in Maryland perished in fires from January to March, double the number during the same period in 2022 and an acceleration of the rate in a state that has averaged 64 fatalities a year in the past decade.
Twelve other deaths from the first three months of 2023 await confirmation by the medical examiner’s office of whether they were due to fires, meaning the total could reach 43 fatalities. The total includes building fires and fires in car crashes.
“Forty-some people in the first three months, that’s a huge, huge discrepancy for us,” said Maryland State Fire Marshal Brian Geraci.
Maryland’s population was smaller in 2004, the last time 40 or more people died in the first quarter of the year. Geraci wrote a letter March 30 to Marylanders, warning of the dangers of house fires, in hopes of slowing the disturbing trend.
The state saw some respite the next month, with only one death in April. At least four deaths, including one in Baltimore City, have occurred so far in May.
Geraci, a 50-year fire veteran whose office investigates arson and other fire crimes as part of the Maryland State Police, believes more people are dying in part because modern furniture burns more quickly and spreads flames faster. Furniture made of synthetic materials can combust and contribute to flashover fire, when all items in a room simultaneously ignite.
“You got a sofa that’s a solid brick of gasoline sitting in your living room because it’s all plastic,” Geraci said. “It’s all synthetics. It’s not the cotton-based materials that we saw when your parents and my parents had their homes.”
Driving the high number of deaths in 2023 are eight fires that took multiple lives, including a West Baltimore fire that killed three children, ages 1, 2, and 7, in March. Baltimore fire investigators still are investigating the cause but found issues with a smoke detector. Chief Khalilah Yancey, a fire department spokesperson, declined to specify the issue, citing the open investigation.
That fire’s devastating toll weighs on Geraci, who considers it his responsibility to prevent such tragedies.
“It’s hard to tell people when they show up, ‘Your mom and dad didn’t make it out of the house,’ ” said Geraci, who placed his head in his hand and briefly cried at the memory while sitting in his office on a recent afternoon.
“It’s a failure for us. It’s a failure for me. Either we didn’t get the message to them, or they didn’t receive the message,” about how to keep a fire from starting or how to escape a burning home, he said.
Nationally, the rate of fire deaths has increased over the past decade. Residential fires are the leading cause of fire death, and modern houses burn faster than ever, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.
The speed at which blistering flames and thick, toxic smoke spread leaves only two to three minutes to escape a home after an alarm sounds, according to the National Fire Protection Association. That window is significantly smaller than in previous decades, when people had about 15 minutes to get out.
Many fatal fires involve houses that don’t have working smoke alarms. Two Anne Arundel County men, one a wheelchair user, died in separate house fires within three days this month. Both houses lacked a working smoke alarm.
People with physical disabilities and people who hoard are common victims of fires. An 82-year-old man died May 11 in Dundalk after an electrical failure in his mobility chair started a fire. Baltimore County Police officers tried amid intense heat and heavy smoke to rescue the man from the second floor of his house before firefighters arrived but were unsuccessful.
Two people died this year trying to save other people or personal items from their burning homes.
“If your house is on fire and you go back in, you’re not coming out alive,” Geraci said.
Some of the most common causes of fires are cooking, such as when someone leaves a stove on, and electricity, like when an overloaded extension cord heats up and sparks. Other leading causes are cigarettes and other smoking materials and heating appliances, such as space heaters placed too close to flammable items. Deaths can be caused by infection from burns and from inhaling smoke, which damages the heart and lungs and results in cardiac arrest.
Fires in Baltimore pose a unique danger as more than 14,000 buildings are vacant. Fires in vacant houses, sometimes caused by people living inside, spread quickly to neighboring units and can be treacherous for firefighters. In early May, a towering plume of smoke and fire consumed five houses in West Baltimore. Four were vacant and marked as “Code X-rays,” a designation given to unstable buildings that are too dangerous for firefighters to enter.
Baltimore consistently has the highest number of fire fatalities in the state, followed by the populous counties of Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George’s, according to data from the fire marshal’s office. Seven Baltimore residents died in 2022, and at least six of the nine people killed in 2021 residential fires were in buildings without working smoke alarms, three of which were vacant, according to the most recent annual data.
Alarmed by the rising deaths, Baltimore fire officials are increasing efforts to educate residents on fire safety.
Citywide, firefighters knock on doors weekly to check and replace smoke alarms for free. After the three children died in the Rosemont fire, crews descended on the neighborhood the next day to install alarms and conduct safety inspections.
Acting Baltimore Fire Chief Dante Stewart said the department is focusing fire prevention efforts on older adults and young children, who are the most vulnerable. Fire officials hold a monthly fire safety class, visit retirement homes to raise awareness of risks, and teach children under 18 who are caught setting fires about the dangers of arson.
Safety messages soon will be advertised on Charm City Circulator buses and posted on social media. City residents can call 311 to have fire crews install an alarm or perform a home safety inspection.
All new Maryland residences are required to have sprinklers, which are triggered by heat and extend the amount of time people have to escape.
Geraci warns that people are too complacent about fires starting in their own homes, which he believes has contributed to an uptick in deaths. He wants them to think ahead.
“You can imagine when the smoke is back down to the floor and you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s like, ‘Oh hell, what am I going to do?’ ” Geraci said. “You’ve got to be ready for it.”