2-Alarm Fire, Explosion Damages Building at Back River Waste Water Plant

A two-alarm fire with explosion heavily damaged a building at the Back River Waste Water Treatment Plant today.

No one was injured. The fire did not interrupt operations at the treatment plant, which is owned by Baltimore City and treats wastewater for the metropolitan region.

There were no hazardous materials involved, and the Maryland Department of the Environment said it found no impact on the environment or public health.

BCoFD crews were dispatched at 11:26 a.m. to a building fire with explosion at the Back River treatment plant, 8200 block of Eastern Avenue, 21224. First-arriving units entered a large industrial building used by a Baltimore City contractor, Synagro. Synagro converts waste into pellets for agricultural use. Firefighters found multiple fires inside this building.

Seven people were working in the building when the fire occurred. Some left immediately on their own; firefighters helped the rest exit the building.

The fire and explosion damaged the building. As a safety measure, commanders evacuated all fire personnel after ensuring that no one remained inside.  This afternoon, after reassessing the condition of the building and determining it was safe to go inside, firefighters went in again and used foam to extinguish the remaining fire. The fire was called under control just after 3 p.m.

The building contained 12,000 gallons of thermal oil, which is not classified as a hazardous material and is used in Synagro's manufacturing process. Most of this oil was contained in tanks; firefighters allowed some to burn off before extinguishing the rest.

MDE said all the oil was contained to the site, and there is no environmental impact or threat to public health.

County structural engineers responded to inspect the building.

An investigation of this incident will be conducted by the Baltimore Police Department and the Baltimore Fire Department's Fire Investigation Division.