BALTIMORE, Md. — Captain Dillon Rinaldo and Firefighter/EMT Rodney W. Pitts, III died as a result of a firefight at a row house on Linden Heights Avenue on October 19 2023.
A report from an Incident Review Team, dated February 26, 2026, shared details of the incident and identified 60 recommendations, with 100 action items for the Fire Department.
These recommendations spanned several categories, including recommendations to improve policy, command and accountability, staffing, communications, and equipment.
It also included a comparison of findings from previous reports.
"The same chart was used in the Stricker Street Report, page 110, with one exception: there were previously no improvements specifically identified over the 20-year span. In the brief, 21-month period that occurred from January 2022 to October 2023, the BCFD made great strides in either improving or permanently correcting several of the findings from the Stricker Street report. That is a testament to the effort of the members of the BCFD who worked diligently to enact necessary change."
-Incident Review Team Report
The report shared that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) classified the incident as accidental.
The fire started around 3:30 that Thursday afternoon and the first units were dispatched just after 3:40.
Rinaldo, then a Lieutenant, called a mayday once about five minutes after arriving, and then another at 3:49 p.m.
The report says that both Rinaldo and Pitts "experienced catastrophic SCBA failures of their facepieces and UEBSS (buddy breather supply hoses)."
The equipment had failed within five minutes of their putting it on.
Ten firefighters helped to get the two out of the home. They were just a few feet away from the front door.
Pitts died later that day, and though Rinaldo was conscious and talking when he was removed from the home, he died a few days later, on October 24, due to complications from smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, according to the report.
