VIDEO: Some people perished in the fire on Keswick Road back in October, and others, like Jeremy Olsen, barely made it out of their homes alive.
โI left my house in my underwear with my mother-in-law over my shoulder,โ Olsen told members of the Baltimore City Councilโs Public Safety Committee at a public hearing on Tuesday. The smoke had barely cleared from his lungs when Olsen says his family was victimized for a second time.
โA gentleman came over hovering over my family with a card saying, โWe can help youโ, Olsen later told us, โI felt the timing was terrible. I felt disrespected. I felt my family was disrespected. Like, โGive me some space to breathe.โโ
City Councilwoman Odette Ramos witnessed a similar incident at the same scene and now, sheโs co-sponsored legislation to give victims that breathing room by restricting access to active scenes by emergency mitigation businesses. โWhat this does, it just simply says when the fire department is there and the scene is established, no unauthorized people can go in,โ said Ramos.
Those who violate the exclusion zone could be subject to 500-dollar fines and up to 90 days in jail. Ironically, opponents of the proposed legislation say something intended to help fire victims may actually hurt them when they file claims with their insurance. They argue most policies require the homeowner to secure their homes to prevent further loss.
โYou know, Iโve seen it from time to time where a homeowner wasnโt there or we couldnโt get in touch with them and by the time they found out about a fire, they were on vacation, half their stuff was gone,โ said William Karaberis of Platinum Emergency Services. โOr extra damage? Whatever the case may be,โ we asked. โOf course. Yes. Mold grows in 24 to 48 hours,โ he replied.
Proponents of the measure say it would be up to the fire incident commander to determine how long the businesses must wait before approaching victims to offer their services.
