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WEBVTT YOU SPOKE WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE’S -- SOME OF THE PEOPLE. KATE: I DID. IT KEEPS PAINTS, LIKE A PAINT INSTITUTION AND A PICTURE OF HIS NEIGHBORHOOD. BEHIND IS, RIGHT NOW, FIRE CREWS HAVE STARTED PACKING UP AND MOVING AWAY UNTIL 30 SECONDS AGO. THIS TRUCK WAS STILL POURING WATER ON HOTSPOTS IN THE MAIN PAINT BUILDING. THEY ALSO, I HAVE LEARNED, THE CHURCH NEXT DOOR THAT EVERYONE KEEPS TALKING ABOUT, IT HASN’T BEEN A CHURCH FOR A LONG TIME. IT IS A CHURCH BUILDING AND WAS OWNED BY THE PAINT SHOP AND USE IT FOR STORAGE IN OTHER PARTS OF THE BUSINESS. THAT IS NOT AN ACTIVE CHURCH THAT HAS LOST THEIR PLACE OF WORSHIP. BUT THIS COMPANY HAS LOST EVERYTHING INSIDE, AS YOU CAN TELL. YOU CAN SEE DAYLIGHT THROUGH THE OTHER SIDE. FIREFIGHTERS GOT HERE AT ABOUT 2:30 THIS MORNING. THEY SAID THEY ARRIVE TO SUCH HEAVY FLAMES AND SUCH INTENSE SMOKE, AND KNOWING THERE WAS ALL SORTS OF EXPLOSIVES AND FLAMMABLES KEPT INSIDE. THIS IS A PAINT STORE AFTER ALL. THEY HAD TO ATTACK IT FROM THE OUTSIDE. THE GOOD NEWS IS NOBODY WAS HURT. AND IT ONLY SPREAD TO THIS BUILDING NEXT DOOR. THERE IS SOME FIRE DAMAGE AT THE ESPERANZA CENTER AT 430 SOUTH BROADWAY. AND THE BUSINESS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PAINT STORE, THE SCRATCH AND DENT DOESN’T HAVE FIRE DAMAGE. BUT IT DOES HAVE A LOT OF WIRED -- A LOT OF WATER DAMAGE. ANYBODY WHO HAS BEEN DOWN HERE KNOWS THAT ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON, THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT, ORGANICALLY-VIBRANT AREAS OF BALTIMORE. THIS FIRE SCENE HAS CLOSED UP SO MANY ROADS, IT IS EERILY QUIET. AND STUFF MAKING A LOT OF NOISE, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING GOING ON HERE. I HAVE NEVER SEEN IT SO QUIET. WE ALSO TALKED TO MANY NEIGHBORS AND PEOPLE’S WHO LIVE IN THE AREA, AND PEOPLE WHO USED WORKED AT THE STORE AS A KID, AND THEY ARE SAD. HERE IS WHAT ONE OF THEM HAD TO SAY. >> IT IS DEFINITELY VERY SAID. -- SAD. IT IS NOT A PLACE I HAVE BEEN TO BURY, BUT IT IS A STAPLE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD. I WAS TALKING TO A NEIGHBOR THIS PAINTS THERE. HE IS HOPING THEY WILL REBUILD AND SO DO I. KATE: THE OWNER IS HERE. THEY DO OWN ANOTHER OUTPOST. AND THIS IS WHAT HE WANTED ME TO PASS ON TO ALL OF YOU. FIRST OF ALL, HE SAID, HE WANTS TO THANK THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE FIREFIGHTERS WHO HAVE BEEN HERE GOING ON 10 PLUS HOURS, AND HE WANTS TO KNOW THE CUSTOMERS KNOW THAT HE WILL TAKE CARE OF THEM AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE. YOU CAN CONTACT THE TIMONIUM STORE AND THEY WILL GET YOUR ORDERS IN DESIGN PLANS, GET EVERYTHING SQUARED AWAY. THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF DOING THAT RIGHT NOW. REPORTING LIVE FROM FELLS POINT, I'

Advertisement Paint shop in Fells Point burned to ground in four-alarm fire Nearby residents evacuated from homes Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Baltimore City fire crews battled a four-alarm fire at a paint shop in Fells Point early Friday morning.Firefighters were called shortly after 2 a.m. to the 400 block of South Broadway for reports of a fire at Budeke's Paints.The fire quickly grew to four alarms and spread to a neighboring building, officials said. Smoke could be seen from as far away as Interstate 83 heading into downtown Baltimore.About 50 residents from a nearby condominium were forced to evacuate. Fells Point resident Ben Orlando said he was among those residents who had to evacuate."I live right on the corner and when we came out the fire alarms went off. There were a bunch of firefighters. The store right behind us was on fire. Then they were trying to contain it, but they said it was difficult because there were accelerants and then it spread over to the (neighboring building), which was right next door, and there were a lot of paper and combustible," Orlando said."My wife went to work at about 3:30 and said she saw the flames and heard loud pops and bangs. I came out at about six and it was still on fire," said neighbor Chris Mills.The fire spread from two buildings adjacent to one another."The fire is contained to two dwellings, which appears to be a church and the other is a paint company," Baltimore City Fire Department spokeswoman Blair Skinner said. "Because one of them is a paint company we believe that there may be some flammable substances inside, so just to be on the safe and make sure our firefighters are safe, we're performing exterior operations."Fire engulfed the 150-year-old three-story business, which is in the middle of the group of the building, and there were concerns about chemicals inside the paint business, officials said."Anytime you're dealing with flammable substances our best bet is to perform exterior operations," Skinner said.Motorists were advised to avoid the area."We're encouraging motorists to stay clear of this area at least for a few hours to make sure that we contained the fire," Skinner said. "It's not a safe place for anyone to be right now. Our No. 1 priority is to make sure that the citizens of Baltimore are safe and also our firefighters." The paint shop has been a family owned business for 5 generations."A lot of the paint stuff probably went back 100 years. And up in the church loft, in the apex, was another storage place where they stored historic documents from this area (that) went back to the 1860s," said Robin Rider, who worked at Budeke's.The owner said he is thankful to firefighters who worked so hard to put out the flames, to neighbors and to customers. He said, "We want to let people know we'll take care of them the best we can, the way we always have."Budeke's was a supplier of paint and supplies to many Hollywood hits, such as T.V. shows Veep and The Wire and the movie Sleepless in Seattle.Budeke's Paints has a second location in Timonium that is open.No injuries have been reported.There is no word on what caused the fire.