North Baltimore Apartment Fire Sends Two to Hospital, Witnesses Report Window Jumps

A witness who called 911 just before 3 a.m. Thursday watched flames tear through the third floor of an apartment building off Belvedere Avenue in North Baltimore, next to Pleasant Hope Baptist Church, as a mother and daughter jumped from a window to escape the fire below them.

At least two people were transported to hospitals following the blaze, which broke out in the early hours of March 19. The extent of their injuries had not been released as of late Thursday morning, and the cause of the fire remained under investigation.

The witness told WMAR-2 News he spotted the flames from the third-floor unit and immediately dialed 911. Firefighters arrived and knocked down the blaze quickly, but not before the chaotic scene outside the building, tucked into a North Baltimore corridor of rowhouses and small apartment buildings near the church at 430 E. Belvedere Ave., had already drawn neighbors into the street.

Whether the mother and daughter who jumped are among those transported to hospitals has not been confirmed by officials. No names or ages of any of the people involved have been released.

Baltimore Fire Department officials had not provided a statement, an incident number, a containment time, or any preliminary findings about the fire's origin by late Thursday morning. The investigation is ongoing.