BALTIMORE — A two alarm fire broke out Monday morning at a Hampden hardware store on Chestnut Avenue.
Falkenhan's sits near the site of Baltimore's iconic Miracle on 34th Street light display.
Flames erupted around 6:30am, before business hours.
Luckily no one was inside at the time, resulting in no injuries.
After the smoke cleared, store management took stock of the damage.
“My fiancé actually has a massage studio in the back of Falkenhan’s so he’ll be out as long as this takes to repair so he’ll be looking for a new studio,” said Rose Breyla, “We just drove over to look, and the damage is incredible.”
Monday morning fire breaks out near site of Baltimore's iconic Miracle on 34th Street lights display
While the owners have changed, the hardware store has been part of Hampden for more than a century.
“It’s just a complete pillar of the entire community,” said Lou Catelli of Hampden, “She’s the one that everyone goes to for anything, everything, not just tools or this or that, but like everything. Any kind of like fundraising support, any kind of a motivation. She even put me up at her house for a couple of years. That’s how nice she is. Momma Deb Falkenhan.”
“Yes, it’s devastating,” added Lindsay Buck, “It’s really sad, but we will rebuild and be here for each other.”
Investigators have ruled the fire accidental, and electrical in nature.
A nearby fire at the historic Castle building on Keswick Road last month was also ruled accidental and electrical in nature.
