BALTIMORE — Some people perished in the fire on Keswick Road back in October, and others, like Jeremy Olsen, barely made it out of their homes alive.
“I left my house in my underwear with my mother-in-law over my shoulder,” Olsen told members of the Baltimore City Council’s Public Safety Committee at a public hearing on Tuesday.
The smoke had barely cleared from his lungs when Olsen says his family was victimized for a second time.
“A gentleman came over hovering over my family with a card saying, ‘We can help you’, Olsen later told us, “I felt the timing was terrible. I felt disrespected. I felt my family was disrespected. Like, ‘Give me some space to breathe.’”
Baltimore's proposed ban on fire scene solicitations
City Councilwoman Odette Ramos witnessed a similar incident at the same scene and now, she’s co-sponsored legislation to give victims that breathing room by restricting access to active scenes by emergency mitigation businesses.
“What this does, it just simply says when the fire department is there and the scene is established, no unauthorized people can go in,” said Ramos.
Those who violate the exclusion zone could be subject to 500-dollar fines and up to 90 days in jail.
Ironically, opponents of the proposed legislation say something intended to help fire victims may actually hurt them when they file claims with their insurance.
They argue most policies require the homeowner to secure their homes to prevent further loss.
“You know, I’ve seen it from time to time where a homeowner wasn’t there or we couldn’t get in touch with them and by the time they found out about a fire, they were on vacation, half their stuff was gone,” said William Karaberis of Platinum Emergency Services.
“Or extra damage? Whatever the case may be,” we asked.
“Of course. Yes. Mold grows in 24 to 48 hours,” he replied.
Proponents of the measure say it would be up to the fire incident commander to determine how long the businesses must wait before approaching victims to offer their services.
