Three Alarm

More than 100 fire personnel and 30 fire vehicles were on the scene of a three-alarm fire Sunday afternoon at DiDi's Pizza on Holabird Avenue in Dundalk, fire officials said. When firefighters arrived at the scene about 12:20 p.m., they encountered such a large fire that they called for a second and then a third alarm, officials said. No one was injured in the blaze, whose cause was under investigation, fire officials said. The fire was declared under control about an hour later, officials said.

Baltimore County firefighters Saturday continued to work their way through a large paper recycling plant in Dundalk that was the scene of a three-alarm fire that caused part of the building's roof to collapse Friday night. A fire official said the collapsed roof at the Owl Corporation, on Graves Court near Lynch Cove, created a challenge for firefighters trying to reach parts of the warehouse that might still be burning. Units from throughout the east side of the county, as well as from Baltimore City, battled the blaze.

One person was hurt and 12 residents of an apartment complex in Bowleys Quarters were displaced after a three-alarm fire early Friday morning. A fire was reported at a building at the Seneca Bay Apartments in the 3700 block of White Pine Road at 3:41 a.m., with flames on the second floor that spread to the third floor, according to Division Chief Michael Robinson. The Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department was first on the scene, he said. About 100 personnel from 25 units reported to fight the blaze.

A three-alarm fire broke out in a garden apartment complex in Pikesville early Thursday morning, sending two people to the hospital with minor injuries, Baltimore County fire officials said. Several people were inside their homes as the fire was raging and had to be rescued by firefighters, fire officials said. The fire, at 37 Tentmill Lane in the St. Charles at Olde Court Apartments, was reported at 3 a.m. and was declared under control at 5:30 a.m., fire officials said. Two people were taken to Northwest Hospital in Randallstown, but their injuries were not severe.

With a Canton warehouse fire reduced to a smolder by Monday morning, attention shifted to ensuring that surrounding homes and the harbor's waters are protected from caustic chemicals inside the facility. State and federal environmental officials were on the site alongside firefighters into Monday evening, monitoring water streaming from the one-story brick structure into storm drains. The warehouse contains nearly 8,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

A Forest Hill custom cabinetmaking business was severely damaged Wednesday by a three-alarm blaze when sawdust accidentally ignited during a sanding operation, fire authorities said.Canatella Inc., in the 2700 block of Putnam Road off Route 165, was engulfed in flames when the first alarm sounded at 3:19 p.m., said Bob Thomas, deputy chief state fire marshal. About 125 volunteers and 41 pieces of equipment from Jarrettsville, Bel Air, Fallston, Joppa-Magnolia, Kingsville, Jacksonville, Delta-Cardiff and Fawn Grove, Pa., fought the fire in the three-story, concrete-block building.

A three-alarm fire destroyed a two-story home in Smallwood early yesterday, displacing the 65-year-old homeowner and slightly injuring several firefighters, authorities said. Firefighters from Reese, Westminster, Gamber, Sykesville, Pleasant Valley and Winfield responded. Firefighters were on the scene for six hours.The loss was estimated at $75,000.The state fire marshal's office is investigating the cause, officials said.The homeowner, Doris Rash, discovered the fire when she investigated a noise on her enclosed back porch about 3 a.m., said Marion Davidson Jr., chief of the Reese & Community Volunteer Fire Company.

Two firefighters were injured last night while a battling a three-alarm blaze that broke out in the 2300 block of Tucker Lane in the Wakefield neighborhood of Northwest Baltimore. Firefighters Richard Bocian and Edward Flemming were on the first floor of the three-story house when the floor collapsed, but the men caught themselves before plunging into the basement. Both were transported to Mercy Medical Center, where they were treated and released. It took about 50 firefighters two hours to bring the fire, which began about 7 p.m., under control.

A three-alarm fire in an Ellicott City apartment building displaced six families yesterday, according to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue.Lt. Sean Kelly, a department spokesman, said the fire began about 12: 30 p.m. on the first floor of the Chatham Garden Apartments in the 3300 block of N. Chatham Road and quickly spread to all three floors.Kelly said the fire is believed to have started when the flame of a blowtorch that was being used in the building came in contact with insulation.

A three-alarm fire in a Davidsonville house last night claimed the life of a man who had recently moved into the dwelling, said an Anne Arundel County EMS/Fire/ Rescue spokesman.Lt. Robert Rose said the first alarm was sounded at 9: 55 p.m. for the one-story wood frame rancher in the 2500 block of Arbor Court in the Lavall development. Rose said subsequent alarms were pulled at 10: 06 p.m., and the fire was declared under control at 11: 55 p.m.Rose said the body of the victim, whose identity was not released, was taken to the state medical examiner's office for an autopsy.

A fire that ravaged a home in North Baltimore's upscale Roland Park neighborhood Thursday afternoon has resulted in severe damage that is expected to cost more than $1 million, Baltimore Fire Department officials said. Firefighters battled the raging fire and challenging conditions at a home in the 1000 block of Saint Georges Road. With frigid temperatures at play, the fire was escalated to a third alarm around 5 p.m. Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Ian Brennan said two hydrants on the road froze, but added that crews worked around the issue.

More than two dozen people have been displaced after a three-alarm fire damaged their Northwest Baltimore apartment complex Thursday morning. No one was injured in the fire, which broke out after 10 a.m. in the 3900 block of Gwynn Oak Ave. in the Howard Park neighborhood. There was heavy smoke and fire at the scene, and spokesman Ian Brennan said firefighters were able to keep the flames contained to one building. At least 27 people were displaced by the fire, which damaged 18 apartments in the building, Brennan said.

No one was injured but close to two dozen people were displaced from their homes after a three-alarm fire ravaged a Bel Air apartment complex Thursday morning, Harford County fire officials said. It took firefighters about two hours to place the fire under control after it was reported at around 4 a.m. in the 200 block of Crocker Drive. Those whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fire have been temporarily relocated to The American Legion on Hickory Avenue, Harford County fire officials said.

One man is dead and a volunteer firefighter was in critical condition after a three-alarm fire tore through a home in Reisterstown early Wednesday morning, according to the Baltimore County Fire Department. Steven Starr, 58, of the first block of Hanover Road, was found in an upstairs hallway of the home, which has multiple apartments, during an intense search-and-rescue effort, said Capt. Rich Schenning, a department spokesman. Starr, whose son described him as a big Baltimore sports fan who could often be found on the home's porch with a cup of coffee, was found in cardiac arrest and transported to Northwest Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, Schenning said.

A three-alarm fire heavily damaged two attached homes and lightly damaged a third in Annapolis on Wednesday, displacing three families, according to the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. Firefighters responded to the homes in the 2600 block of Compass Drive about 11:40 a.m. to find heavy fire coming from the rear of one of the homes in the "double duplex" grouping of four homes, said Lt. Jack Beall, a department spokesman. As the fire spread, a total of 64 firefighters from the county, the city of Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy responded, bringing the blaze under control at 12:52 p.m., Beall said.

A three-alarm fire gutted a three-story brick building of offices and apartments in Mount Vernon early Thursday morning, according to the Baltimore Fire Department. No injuries were reported in the blaze, which burned through what were believed to be first-story offices and second- and third-story apartments in the building near the intersection of North Calvert and East Read streets, the fire department said. Firefighters responded to the building about 12:45 a.m. and found heavy flames coming from all three stories of the building, which is at the end of a commercial row, the department said.

Fire investigators today were trying to determine the cause of a three-alarm fire that extensively damaged a pharmacy and caused smoke and water damage to the Fells Point studio of a renowned artist.The fire broke out in the front of the REVCO pharmacy at South Broadway and Eastern Avenue about 12:14 p.m. yesterday and quickly raced through much of the store. The fire also reached the upstairs art studio that is owned by Grace Hartigan, an abstract impressionist whose works are featured in many galleries here and in other cities.

One city firefighter received minor injuries battling a three-alarm fire that broke out Thursday morning in a commercial building in the 1700 block of Fleet Street near Broadway in Fells Point. According to Chief Kevin Cartwright, spokesman for the Baltimore City Fire Department, the fire was reported around 5:30 a.m. in a three-story, mid-block building with a liquor store on the first level. He said fire fighters reported heavy smoke on the first level and fire on the second and third levels.

With a Canton warehouse fire reduced to a smolder by Monday morning, attention shifted to ensuring that surrounding homes and the harbor's waters are protected from caustic chemicals inside the facility. State and federal environmental officials were on the site alongside firefighters into Monday evening, monitoring water streaming from the one-story brick structure into storm drains. The warehouse contains nearly 8,000 gallons of corrosive chemicals, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.