Deadly Fire In Roland Park Raises Awareness About Fire Safety BALTIMORE, MD (wypr) - Jeff Pratt is a first-hand witness to how the Roland Park community is reacting to last week's house fire in the area. Pratt runs Schneider's, a tiny hardware store nestled on a corner along a hilly avenue in Roland Park.

[BRING UP CASH REGISTER SOUND TRACK 94 (9 - 35 seconds and run underneath actuality]

TAPE: (15 SECONDS) TRACK 47 (23- 38)
IC: Everyone's checking their smoke detectors, first to see if they're working, checking the batteries or do they have enough. Because of that, I've run out of smoke detectors and 9-volt batteries, which are typical to go into your smoke detector.

Pratt expects to get more smoke detectors in by the weekend. But in the meantime, he and the neighborhood are in shock over the deaths of eleven-year old Abigail Young, who died in the hospital the day of the fire, and her sixteen-year old brother Matthew Young who died two days later from sustained injuries.

TAPE: (15 SECONDS) TRACK 47 (1- 16)
IC: Everybody is so upset for the family. Everyday we're talking about it. I've been talking about it since it happened and most people say their eyes are welling up with tears. They don't know them We got a tight community.

Roland Park comes across as a leafy haven on Baltimore City's north side. The historic neighborhood is dotted with tree-lined streets and impressive homes owned by middle- and upper-class residents. Crime is not the norm, and deadly house fires are rare. Roland Park residents usually hear about tragic fires in other parts of the city. Most likely, they heard about the Cecil Avenue row-house fire in East Baltimore this past spring, which the local media covered extensively.

TAPE: (5 SECONDS) TRACK 116 (7 - 12)
IC: Eight members of an extended family were killed in the inferno. Several others were seriously burned.


But now, the spotlight has turned on Roland Park and the community wrestles with its own tragic fire. At this time, no one knows the cause of the fire and if the victims' family had an escape plan or tried to execute one. Roland Park resident Peg Bachrach says the fire should be a wakeup call to families who currently don't have an escape plan.

TAPE: (22 SECONDS) TRACK 102 (9 - 31)
IC: When our kids were growing up, we always had an escape plan. They thought it was ridiculous. They made fun of us when we said now we're going to practice, we're going to have a drill. But I always believed if our children went through those monthly drills, if the time came when there really was a fire, they would have some familiarity and it would click into automatic for how they could get out.

Some Roland Park residents are taking action in the aftermath of the fire. And they're getting advice from local fire station captain, Steven Kowalewski.

TAPE: (12 SECONDS) TRACK (0 - 12)
IC: We've had several people walk in and call as far as what they can do for fire safety. If they can obtain a smoke detector, just some generalized questions so they can feel like they're more safe in their homes.

Kowalewski says a working smoke detector is crucial to saving lives. He recommends testing smoke alarms monthly, changing batteries at least once a year, and replacing detectors every 10 years. In the case of the Roland Park fire, Kowalewski says the smoke detectors were not working when they arrived on the scene.

The fire hit home for Maryland's Fire Museum director Stephen Heaver. He lives in Roland Park, and promotes fire safety as part of his job. But Heaver says it remains an everyday challenge to get the public to be vigilant and pro-active.

TAPE: (16 SECONDS) TRACK (16 - 32)
IC: Sometimes people don't sit up and pay attention until someone they love is seriously injured or is killed. And in the meantime, they think it will never happen to them and so all of the talking in the world sometimes doesn't do the trick.

With the holiday season here, Heaver worries about potential fire hazards from the combination of decorative lighting, Christmas trees, ornaments, and overloaded plug sockets. He hopes homeowners will be safe, and remember to turn off all tree and decorative lights before going to bed or leaving the house.

I'm Stephanie Marudas, reporting in north Baltimore, for 88.1, WYPR.
© Copyright 2010, wypr