BALTIMORE — Hearts are heavy in East Baltimore tonight after a deadly fire this morning claimed 3 lives.
Ms. Evelyn’s vigil was just a few blocks away from North Patterson Park Avenue a few days ago.
She was killed inside of her church near the same neighborhood where more lives were lost Monday but praise is pouring in for neighbors who refused to standby and watch.
“As I went back I saw a baby flying out the window. I caught the baby. And I took the baby and wrapped the baby,” said Jessica Waters who rescued eight people from the home.
Jessica Water’s sigh says a lot as she faced these intense flames Monday morning.
“I couldn’t save her. I saved who I could,” said Waters.
She couldn’t save a 35-year-old woman, 7-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy.
That’s a reality she calls bittersweet.
“I was able to save eight lives today and that was big real big on me,” she shared.
Jessica wasn’t the only person selflessly answering the call for help.
Down the street Sandra Brown’s husband heard desperate cries…
“I was basically hearing like a gentle man yelling someone’s name like break the window break the window,” Brown recalled.
But he couldn’t find anything to break the window with.
“So he punched through the glass and was shouting is there anybody in there. I’m here just take my hand let me help you,” she said.
Inside of the rubble lied a toy car, a dinosaur and remnants of a family suffering a painful loss.
Emerging from the morning’s chaos, Jessica received a message of hope.
“They told me they confirmed to me that 2 year old boy that I caught is alright. And that worried me because I heard he probably had passed on due to the smoke but he’s home safe and that brought a smile to me,” Waters said.
Councilman Antonio Glover sent out the following statement on the fire:
In the early hours of Monday morning, the Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) responded to a fire in the 1500 block of Patterson Park Ave. Three people were found deceased at the scene with six others transported to area hospitals.
This is an absolute tragedy, and my hearts and prayers go out to the loved ones of those affected by this fire.
It is imperative to remain vigilant about fire safety as we go through the winter months. Please ensure you have a working smoke detector on each floor of your home. If you don’t have one, contact the fire department to have one installed. Make sure your outlets and surge protectors are not overloaded. Don’t use your stove or range to heat the home and don’t leave space heaters unattended. All of these things will help prevent unfortunate tragedies like this from occurring.
Finally, I would like to thank Chief Ford and our brave first responders for their quick efforts to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to additional homes. I would also like to thank my colleague Cynthia Barber from the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee Rev. Dr. Andre Humphrey of the Baltimore Trauma Response Team, who were on the scene to address the needs on the community. My office will remain in contact with BCFD and the surrounding neighbors of Patterson Park to provide support in the wake of this deadly fire.
A GoFundMe has been created for the family of one of those killed.
