Terin Hopkins, NFSA Manager of Public Fire Protection  

The October 19, 2023, rowhouse fire in Baltimore that claimed the lives of two firefighters is more than a tragic incident, it is a stark warning. The recently released Baltimore City Fire Department report examining this line-of-duty death (LODD) event reveals critical gaps in staffing, training, and equipment. But beyond those findings, it highlights a much larger issue facing the fire service today: the growing danger of modern fires occurring in aging, unsprinklered residential buildings.  

This is not an isolated problem. It is a systemic challenge playing out in cities across the country, particularly in communities with older housing stock, high vacancies, and limited modern fire protection infrastructure. The Baltimore report reinforces a reality many in the fire service already understand, we are fighting today’s fires in yesterday’s buildings, often without the built-in protection needed to match modern fire behavior.  

The fire occurred in a structure typical of older urban environments, a more than 100-year-old rowhouse that had likely been modified multiple times over its lifespan. These buildings are part of the fabric of many communities, but they also present inherent risks. Renovations can compromise compartmentation, hidden voids can accelerate fire spread, and aging construction materials can behave unpredictably under fire conditions. When combined with modern fuel loads, these factors create an environment where fire can grow rapidly, and conditions can deteriorate in a matter of minutes.  

Decades ago, residential fires were fueled primarily by natural materials such as wood, cotton, and wool. Fire development was slower, often providing occupants with 15 to 20 minutes to escape and giving firefighters a wider operational window to intervene. Today, synthetic materials dominate residential interiors. Furnishings made from plastics, synthetics and foams ignite quickly and burn significantly faster, producing more toxic gases. Research consistently shows that flashover can now occur in as little as three to five minutes, dramatically reducing the time available for both escape and suppression.  

The Baltimore report describes fire conditions exceeding 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit within minutes of entry, intensified by ventilation. This is not an anomaly; it reflects the reality of modern fire behavior. The report also highlights operational challenges, including understaffing, limited experience among crew members, outdated training that does not fully reflect modern fire dynamics, and equipment failures that compromised firefighter safety.  

These findings are significant, but they are also symptomatic of a broader issue. Fire departments today are being asked to manage increasingly complex incidents with limited resources while operating in buildings that amplify risk. Even highly trained firefighters can quickly find themselves in untenable conditions when operating in unsprinklered, ventilation-limited fires that rapidly transition to flashover.  

In Baltimore and many similar cities, the challenge is further compounded by the presence of vacant and abandoned properties. These structures often lack maintenance, have compromised structural integrity, and allow uncontrolled airflow due to broken windows, doors, or roof damage. They become fuel-rich environments where fire spreads unpredictably and intensifies quickly. For firefighters, vacant buildings introduce additional uncertainty, unknown layouts, hidden hazards, delayed detection, and rapidly evolving fire conditions upon arrival.  

While the Baltimore report focuses on firefighter fatalities, the same conditions that endanger firefighters are responsible for the overwhelming majority of civilian fire deaths. In Maryland, nearly 79 percent of all fire fatalities occur in unsprinklered residential properties. What is most telling, however, is not just where fatalities occur, but where they do not. Data from the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s Office and long-term analysis highlighted by the National Fire Sprinkler Association show that fire deaths in sprinkler protected homes, where occupants are not intimately involved with the fire, are almost nonexistent. In fact, since Maryland adopted its 2012 residential sprinkler requirement, there have been no reported fire fatalities in sprinklered one- and two-family homes where the fire originated remotely from the occupant. 

By contrast, in a recent year with 73 fire fatalities, nearly all occurred in properties without fire sprinklers. This distinction is critical. The difference is not simply detection, it is control. Smoke alarms alert occupants to danger, but they do not stop fire growth. In many fatal incidents, alarms were present and functioning, but occupants were overcome by rapidly developing heat and toxic smoke before they could escape. 

The data reinforces a clear conclusion: when a fire is controlled early, the environment remains survivable; when it is not, it quickly becomes lethal. In unsprinklered homes, approximately one death occurs for every 104 fires. In sprinklered homes, that number drops to roughly one death for every 1,400 fires, a reduction in risk of more than 90 percent.  

The same environments that lead to civilian fatalities also place firefighters at significantly elevated risk. Maryland has experienced multiple firefighter line-of-duty deaths in recent years, all in unsprinklered residential fires. These incidents are not isolated and reflect a pattern. When firefighters enter structures where fire has already intensified beyond control, they are operating in areas unsurvivable by occupants, with limited visibility, and rapidly deteriorating conditions. Without early fire suppression, the environment can quickly become unsurvivable for firefighters.  

This leads to a critical and often overlooked reality: if a building is not survivable for occupants, it is increasingly not survivable for firefighters. The risks are shared, and the outcomes are directly linked.  

Maryland has taken important steps to improve fire safety, including the adoption of a statewide residential sprinkler requirement for new construction in 2012. This policy has proven effective. Newer homes equipped with sprinklers consistently demonstrate significantly better outcomes, with far fewer injuries, fatalities, and property losses.  

However, the data also reveals a significant gap. The majority of fire deaths continue to occur in older homes built before these requirements were in place. These legacy homes represent the greatest challenge moving forward. They are widespread, often occupied by vulnerable populations, and typically lack the fire protection features that have become standard in newer construction.  

The Baltimore LODD report underscores the reality that the fire service alone cannot solve this problem. Improvements in training, staffing, and equipment are essential, but they are not sufficient. Firefighters are being asked to compensate for deficiencies in the built environment, often at great personal risk.  

Fire sprinklers offer a proven solution. When a sprinkler activates, it controls or suppresses the fire at its earliest stage, reducing temperatures, limiting fire spread, and improving conditions for both occupants and responding firefighters. In most cases, only one or two sprinklers are needed to control a residential fire. This early intervention changes everything, it provides occupants with more time to escape and allows firefighters to operate in a safer, more manageable environment.  

Addressing the risks associated with legacy housing will require a broader, coordinated approach. This includes prioritizing retrofit strategies for existing residential buildings, focusing on multi-family structures, and implementing cost-effective solutions that can be applied without displacing residents. It also requires collaboration between policymakers, fire service leaders, housing officials, and community stakeholders.  

The Baltimore report should not be viewed solely as a reflection on one incident. It should be understood as a case study in a larger, ongoing challenge, what happens when modern fire behavior meets buildings that lack modern protection, and when systems are pushed to their limits.  

We know where the risks are. We know which buildings are most vulnerable. And we know what tools are most effective at reducing those risks. The question is whether we are willing to act on that knowledge.  

Unsprinklered residential fires remain the deadliest threat to both civilians and firefighters. The loss of life seen in Baltimore and in communities across Maryland and the nation reinforces the urgency of addressing this issue. The path forward is clear: align our buildings and our fire protection strategies with the realities of today’s fire environment.  

The goal is not complicated. Safer buildings lead to safer communities and safer communities means fewer tragedies for both the people who live in these homes and the firefighters who are called to protect them. 

Terin Hopkins has 40 years of experience in public safety, fire protection, and life safety policy. He currently serves as the Manager of Public Fire Protection for the National Fire Sprinkler Association (NFSA), where he leads technical support and advocacy efforts nationwide, working closely with fire departments, code and standard, and policymakers to improve fire protection infrastructure and compliance. He represents NFSA on NFPA and UL technical committees, including NFPA 14 Standard for the Installation of Standpipe and Hose Systems.