Firefighter death in Baltimore renews questions about safety, vacant homes

Nearly one year after a critical report recommended sweeping procedural reforms to protect Baltimore’s first responders — the investigation spurred by the tragic deaths of three firefighters in a Stricker Street blaze in 2022 — the city is once again mourning. EMT/firefighter Rodney Pitts III, 31, was killed last week in a fire that spread across four rowhouses, only two of which were occupied, in Woodmere. Three other firefighters were treated and released from medical care. A fifth remains hospitalized.