Baltimore is grieving the loss of three firefighters—Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler, and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo—who died Monday after a vacant rowhouse collapsed during a fire in the New Southwest/Mount Clare neighborhood. EMT/firefighter John McMaster remains hospitalized on life support.
The building, previously damaged in a 2015 fire, partially collapsed while crews were inside. Sadler and Lacayo went into cardiac arrest at the scene, while Butrim died later at the hospital. The team had entered to protect an adjacent occupied home.
Mayor Brandon Scott and Fire Chief Niles Ford honored their service and sacrifice. This marks Baltimore’s deadliest firefighting tragedy in years and renews urgent concerns about the city’s 16,000 vacant homes.
