BALTIMORE — One person is dead after an outside fire in West Baltimore, the fire department said.
Thursday afternoon, the Baltimore City Fire Department responded to a fire in a wooded area and homeless encampment in the 2800 block of N Dukeland Street, near Bard High School Early College and behind Dayspring Head Start.
Employee Karmin Harrison told WMAR 2 News she and her coworkers first knew something was wrong when they smelled burnt plastic.
VIDEO: One person dead following fire in West Baltimore
"We all ran out here to see what was going on and the fire was over here in the bushes so we all ran in here, told the other staff what was going on," Karmin said, "My emotions and my awareness were on 10 and my anxiety was like, we've got to get these kids up out of here, I'm scared."
She immediately called 911 and notified parents like Traci Lambert.
Traci's heart jumped when she got the message.
"Anxiety, anxious, jumped to emergency, what do I need to do to secure my child," Traci said, explaining the range of emotions she felt.
However, she said staff quickly calmed her worries.
"Her teacher did an excellent job of just communicating with me. Immediate notification, letting me know they were secure, giving me the option to come get my child."
But she, along with staff, only knew of the fire itself.
Traci's heart rate rose again when WMAR 2 News told her the fully story.
After putting out the fire, firefighters found an unidentified dead body inside a vehicle.
"I find it very unsettling and it definitely lets us know that we just need more community programs, just support. So we just need more community action to help with these kinds of issues."
The Fire Department’s FBI investigators, as well as the Arson and Homicide Detectives, were notified.
The cause of the fire and the death remains unknown at this time.
