BALTIMORE — The City of Baltimore is mourning the loss of one of its heroes today, after EMT and firefigher Rodney Pitts, who was 31-years-old and had only been with the department for a year, passed away on Thursday.
He died while battling a large row home fire on Linden Heights Avenue in Northwest Baltimore; four other firefighters were injured.
"I can tell you I pinned his badge on him in August," Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said.
Lieutenant Dillon Rinaldo is still "fighting for his life," according to Mayor Brandon Scott.
Rinaldo, a six-year veteran, was critically injured in that fire and remains in the burn center recovering.
City leaders expressed heartfelt empathy as they mourned Pitts' death along with the injuries of the four other firefighters.
Investigators say the two-alarm fire erupted so quickly and Pitts was one of two first responders inside the home trying to fight it. And three others who tried to rescue them were badly burned in the process.
Lieutenant Keith Brooks, a 14-year veteran and firefighter, and Tavon Marshall, a three-year veteran, were both treated and released from the hospital.
Firefighter Seth Robbins who is a 17-year veteran is stable, but remains in the hospital recovering.
More than 24 hours later, there's still a heavy first responder presence. Today, we've seen forensic investigators going in and out of the homes to take photos. Members of the crime scene unit, and the ATF have been here all day as well.
The fire department says people who live in this area can expect this level of activity to be the case for quite some time, as investigators work to figure out what happened, and how a firefighter lost his life.
"All heroes who do this work each and everyday, we are now focused on supporting these families while continuing this investigation," Scott said.
The Baltimore Fire Chief says there's still a lot he doesn't know about the fire.
"That situation up there remains extraordinarily active," Wallace said.
The specifics still need to be ironed out; about 100 first responders were there, so investigators are interviewing as many of them as possible, and reviewing 911 dispatch tapes, to nail down a timeline of what happened.
"This particular fire evolved so quickly," he said.
For many, the incident brought to mind last year's row home fire on Stricker Street. Three firefighters died that day after a vacant home collapsed on them inside. Chief Wallace says this time-there's no indication of a collapse.
"We know that where we removed our firefighters from, and where the other firefighters were hurt conducting that particular operation, was an occupied home. I was told at least preliminarily, that the belief on other side of those dwellings were vacant. But again I cannot confirm that," Wallace added.
Officials also couldn't say whether the fire is considered suspicious or not. Police say they did take one person into custody based on information from people at the scene, but that person was released after an interview.
"Our arson unit and our homicide unit were all involved based on the significance of the event," said Lt Colonel Jason Callaghan.
Multiple agencies are still investigating this trying to piece together, but right now they are wrapping their arms around the loved ones of those impacted.
"When you see my members on the street stop what you’re doing and thank them give them a hug show them your appreciation," Wallace said.