Maryland partial building collapse: 3 firefighters dead, 1 in serious condition

Three firefighters died and one was in serious condition when a building partially collapsed in Baltimore on Monday, Fire Chief Niles Ford said at a news conference.

The firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at a vacant row home. Four of them became trapped when the building collapsed, according to a tweet from Ford while the cause of the fire is yet under investigation.

One firefighter was immediately pulled out and transferred to the University of Maryland Medical Center's Shock Trauma Center, where he was in serious condition, Niles said at the news conference, while three others remained trapped inside the structure.

Two of the firefighters were taken to the Shock Trauma Center, where they were pronounced dead and the fourth firefighter was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fire chief identified the three deceased firefighters as Baltimore City Fire Department Lt. Paul Butrim, firefighter/paramedic Kelsey Sadler and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo.

EMT/firefighter John McMaster is on life support in the intensive care unit at Shock Trauma Center, University of Maryland, Dr. Thomas Scalea said at the news conference.

Scalea said Sadler and Lacayo suffered cardiac arrest at the scene of the fire and were pronounced dead at the hospital.

"Today, Baltimore has lost three of the bravest among us who made the ultimate sacrifice for our city," Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said at the news conference. "This is a gut-wrenching tragedy for our city, for our fire department and most importantly for the families of our firefighters."

"These aren't just members of the Baltimore City Fire Department, these are our heroes," Baltimore City Council President Nick Mosby said.

"We can't allow this incident today, this horrific incident, to go in vain. But we must ensure that we appreciate the job that they do on a daily basis."