Three Baltimore firefighters were killed and a fourth is fighting for his life in hospital after a vacant rowhouse collapsed trapping them inside, officials said.
The firefighters were responding to a blaze in a three-story building on the 200 block of South Stricker St in West Baltimore when it collapsed at 6am on Monday.
The victims were identified as Lieutenant Paul Butrim and firefighter/paramedics Kelsey Sadler and Kenny Lacayo.
Firefighter John McMaster is in hospital in a critical but stable condition.
The firefighters had entered the vacant building because there were occupied buildings on either side, Baltimore City Fire Chief Niles Ford said.
Rescue crews pulled Mr McMaster from the building immediately, and he was rushed to hospital in a critical condition.
Dr Thomas Scalea of Maryland Shock said he was on life support on Monday afternoon.
“Fingers crossed that he’s going to make it and be just fine,” Dr Scalea said. “It’s hard to know at this point.”
Ms Sadler and Mr Lacayo suffered cardiac arrest and were pronounced dead in hospital, Dr Scalea said.
Rescuers searched amongst the rubble for Lieutenant Butrim and he was pulled from the building hours later.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Every day our firefighters, our first responders put their lives on the line for the sake of others,” Chief Ford said in a statement.
“From this moment, we will honour those we lost today, for their bravery, their courage, their love for helping others and the respect they had for the Baltimore City Fire Department.”
Firefighters were pictured hugging and consoling each other at the scene.
Lieutenant Butrim and Ms Sadler were 15-year veterans of the department, while Mr Lacayo served for seven years.
Mayor Brandon Scott said it was a “gut-wrenching tragedy for our city”.
“There are no words to describe the pain and the severity of the losses we have suffered today.”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said: “Our hearts are broken for the entire Baltimore City Fire Department as three of our bravest have fallen in the line of duty.”
It’s the deadliest incident involving line-of-duty firefighters in Baltimore since 1955, when six firefighters were killed. The last time a firefighter died in the city was in 2014.
Three firefighters were injured battling a blaze at the same location in 2015, The Baltimore Sun reported.
