Station 3 responded just over the county line today for a fire at the abandoned Henryton State Hospital Center in Marriottsville. At about 16:30, the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department was dispatched to Henryton Road for smoke in the area; upon arrival Brush 125 found fire through the roof of one of the buildings in the complex. The resulting fire dispatch brought units from West Friendship, Carroll County, Howard County, Baltimore County, and Frederick County to the scene.
Master streams from Sykesville Tower 12 and Ellicott City Tower 2 were utilized in the defensive operation due to the unstable nature of the abandoned building. Engine 31, second arriving engine, laid approximately 800 feet of supply line and supplied water to Engine 124 and Tanker 17. Tankers 3 and 34 were used in the water supply shuttle, and Paramedic 36 was sent to fill in Station 12 after initially responding to the scene. Engine 32 was also staffed in quarters providing suppression coverage to the Third District during the incident. Units cleared at 19:07, and the state fire marshal is investigating.
The Henryton State Hospital Center was originally opened in 1922 to treat African Americans suffering from tuberculosis and in 1963 was converted to house and rehabilitate the mentally disabled until closing in 1985. Since then the abandoned complex has been the site of many suspicious fires, leading the SFDFD to pressure the State of Maryland to raze or better secure the site.
