Baltimore firefighters battle 3-alarm fire in commercial laundry building

The roof of a commercial laundry building collapsed Thursday morning as Baltimore City Fire crews battled a three-alarm fire. 

Firefighters were called to Sunnyside Avenue and Nome Avenue around 5 a.m. They arrived to find heavy fire showing from an unoccupied two-story building, according to department officials. 

The incident was upgraded to a three-alarm fire around 5:30 a.m., officials said. No injuries were reported, and the fire has been contained.

Fire officials told WJZ they believe the building is a total loss. 

Residents were asked to avoid the area as Reisterstown Road at Mortimer Avenue was shut down, according to the Baltimore Office of Emergency Management.

Business owner reacts to fire 

Barry Dublin runs Grizzly Mats, the laundry service on Mortimer Avenue near Reisterstown Road. 

"I've been doing this for a little over 40 years," said Dublin. 

Years of Dublin's work have now turned into burnt fabric, charred machinery and fallen bricks. 

He said he got the call about the fire minutes after firefighters arrived on the scene Thursday morning. 

"I got here 15 minutes or so later, and you see what you see — nothing," Dublin said. 

Despite the circumstances, Dublin is looking on the bright side as he receives an outpouring of support. 

"I've had an unbelievable amount of text messages," Dublin explained. "'How can we help? What can we do?' We take care of people and people take care of us."

He's also looking to take care of his employees during this time. 

"Even if they're out of work, I'll still pay them," Dublin said. "Without them, I don't have a business."

Dublin said the business is not pausing its operations following the fire. Dublin said other businesses have reached out to help him assess a plan to rebuild. 

Vacant building fire

Another fire was reported on Tuesday, Sept. 2, in the city, prompting a massive response. The previous incident – a fire that ripped through multiple vacant buildings downtown – remains under investigation. 

The fire began around 3 p.m. and was reportedly contained by 8 p.m., fire officials said. 

The five-alarm fire destroyed a historic building that dated back to 1875 and had been vacant for years. Another building collapsed during the fire and will be demolished, according to fire department officials. 

City leaders have been aggressively trying to address the vacant crisis in Baltimore, with a goal of reducing vacant buildings to zero within 15 years. 

Baltimore currently has 12,473 vacant buildings, according to data from the city's Department of Housing and Community Development.