Baltimore manufacturing plant catches fire in Canton industrial area
Baltimore firefighters responded to a four-alarm fire at a manufacturing plant in the Canton industrial area on Wednesday morning, city fire officials said.
Crews were called to the 2300 block of South Newkirk Street around 11 a.m., where they said fire was shooting from a large, two-story building once they arrived.
Officials said the building houses Gold Bond Building Products, where drywall and other materials are manufactured.
According to Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace, there are indications that the fire started due to a mechanical process inside the building. Wallace said employees attempted to extinguish the fire before they safely evacuated.
The emergency response includes 24 fire engines, 10 ladder trucks, and four fire boats. Residents are asked to avoid the area.
"We do believe that the employees did attempt to extinguish the fire, but it got ahead of them," Wallace said. "They did the right thing. They got their people out."
No injuries were reported.
Efforts to extinguish the fire
Wallace said fire boats helped ensure there were no problems getting water to put out the fire.
"We have two Baltimore City fire boats here, and I've got two other boats here, I believe they're from Baltimore County," Wallace said. "And to help augment the water supply, they're actually pumping from the harbor to units on land."
Wallace said gusty winds presented a challenge, but firefighters.
"This is another example of where sound tactical decisions were made here by our initial chiefs, and just good firefighting techniques were done here," Wallace said.
Previous fires in Canton industrial area
A fire was reported in the same block of South Newkirk Street in 2022, at a four-story warehouse.
Hazmat crews were dispatched to the scene, and the fire was extinguished within two hours. No injuries were reported, fire officials said.
In 2024, a fire near Baltimore's Canton industrial area seriously injured an employee at a GAF Roofing asphalt processing plant.
The fire, in the 1500 block of Ponca Street, was quickly extinguished, and there was no significant damage to the building. The other employees were safely evacuated, and the injured employee was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation and severe burns, officials said.
Fires in Baltimore
Wednesday's fire is the third such incident to occur in Baltimore in the past week.
On Monday, more than 100 firefighters responded to a fire at Castle at Keswick, a historic building in Baltimore's Hampden neighborhood. The fire heavily damaged the 126-year-old building. No injuries were reported.
On Friday, Nov. 7, 23 people were evacuated from the Remington neighborhood during a four-alarm fire in a commercial building that housed two businesses.