3-alarm fire at old Northern District Police station has been contained

Flames and smoke billowed out of "The Castle" on Keswick Road in Hampden Monday night.

It's a historic building that served as the old Northern District Police Station.

Baltimore fire officials said the call came in around 4:35 in the evening.

"We had to do an exterior attack we couldn't be in the building for fear of collapse so again this is a very old building so we pulled everyone, did an exterior attack, and that's the safest way to do it have a collapse zone and use these towers to do what they were meant to do," said BCFD spokesperson John Marsh.

The fire was contained to the top floor.

Thankfully everyone inside self evacuated and no one was hurt.

Some neighbors worried for the businesses inside, especially a man wanting to check on his fiancé's dress for a very important walk down the aisle.

"My mom called and said I better come down to Jill Andrew's gowns and see if my fiancé's wedding dress is okay. We're engaged to be married on January 31st and she saw on Facebook that the building was on fire," Paul Hendricks said.

But he wasn't concerned.

"Oh I'm not worried I'm sure it's fine."

Councilwoman Odette Ramos has seen too many fires in her community recently.

"Any fire like this is traumatic for any neighborhood but for this one because there's been so many fires I really wanted to come and support the residents who might be impacted," Ramos said.

Just last week a warehouse fire ignited nearby in Remington.

In May, vacant houses in the area went up in flames.

And last year a massive fire on Keswick Road killed two people and destroyed 10 homes.

One neighbor called the fire frequency, crazy.

"Keswick cannot catch a break I guess because we've had a lot of fires down here," said Jaime Silver, "It is a little crazy that Keswick is just on fire all the time like I know we're cool we're hot but it's a little too hot."

Previous Update:

According to City Councilwoman Odette Ramos, the building that is on fire is the historic old Northern District Police station. Ramos also says everyone made it out safely.

Amornrat Hedden

Original Article:

There is an active 3-alarm fire in the 3300 block of Keswick Rd in Hampden.

Baltimore Fire is on the scene trying to contain the flames.

Authorities say to avoid the area.

Updates will be provided as new information becomes available.