Rodney Pitts III died in the line of duty responding to a two-alarm fire on Linden Avenue Thursday night.
Pitts was an EMT with Baltimore City Fire Department Engine Company #29 said Chief James Wallace on Friday. Pitts had around one year of service. He was 31-years-old.
“I pinned his badge on him in August,” said Wallace to a somber crowd of reporters gathered in City Hall for an update on the deadly fire.
“EMT firefighter Rodney Pitts is and always will be a hero, a Baltimorean, who literally gave his life for Baltimore,” said Mayor Brandon Scott, who recalled recently speaking with Pitts’ family. They told the mayor that Pitts was excited and proud to be a Baltimore firefighter– that it was something he loved.
Shortly before 4 p.m. on Thursday, the fire department received a call about a fire at a block of rowhomes on the 5200 block of Linden Avenue in Northwest Baltimore. By 9 p.m., the department reported that one firefighter was dead and four others were hospitalized with injuries.
As of Friday afternoon, two firefighters remained hospitalized. Lieutenant Dillon J. Rinaldo of Company 46 remains hospitalized in critical but stable condition at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital. Mayor Brandon Scott said he spoke with Rinaldo’s fiance and family before the press conference and asked Baltimore to pour love into that family as Rinaldo fights for his life.
Firefighter Seth Robbins of Squad 54, a 17 year veteran, also remains in the hospital but in stable condition.
Chief Wallace shared that Lieutenant Keith Brooks II and Firefighter Tavon T. Marshall have both been released from the hospital.
“When you see my members on the street, stop what you're doing and thank them. Give them a hug. Show them your appreciation,” said Chief Wallace.
During Friday’s conference, Wallace could offer few additional details about the fire that claimed Pitts’ life. Much of the details of the case remain under “very active” investigation. U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are leading the investigation while the city’s arson and homicide units are also investigating, officials said.
On Thursday, Wallace shared that firefighters responded by “attacking” the fire from the back and front but they still don’t know how the fire started or how it spread so quickly. The flames completely consumed four two-story rowhomes on the 5200 Block of Linden Avenue. The structures did not completely collapse unlike in the 2022 Stricker Street fire that killed three firefighters and seriously wounded another.
According to city records, two of the homes were vacant and two others were occupied. Wallace did say on Friday that the structure in which Pitts died was “occupied” but flanked by two vacant structures.
Chief Wallace told reporters last night that the department believes the fire began in an “occupied” structure but reporting from our partners at The Baltimore Banner shows a discrepancy in that theory:
“Late last month, a Baltimore home inspector visited the house where authorities say they believe the fire began and issued a violation for “building, fire and related codes of Baltimore City.” The homeowner was instructed to remediate the problem — a broken second-floor window — on or before Oct. 30, according to the violation notice. The house was deemed as a vacant house and “unfit for human habitation or other authorized use,” according to the notice.”
Funeral details for Pitts have not yet been announced. Governor Wes Moore has ordered the United States and Maryland flags to fly at half-mast until Pitts is buried.
As details from the investigation become more clear, Mayor Scott urged Baltimore not to forget Pitts’ sacrifice.
“That's what I think we should be talking about: someone who loved this place so much that they would be willing to risk their lives and in his case, tragically give his life for this city.”
