Fire officials probe blaze, explosions at church

Baltimore firefighters stand outside the Christ Lutheran Church on South Charles Street as the building is vented following an early morning explosion Friday. Jerry Jackson/Staff

An overnight explosion was reported after a basement fire at a South Charles Street church, Baltimore city officials say.

At about 4 a.m. Friday, the Baltimore City Fire Department responded to the 700 block of South Charles Street near the Maryland Science Center for a report of a fire and explosions in the basement of the Christ Lutheran Church building and adjacent manholes.

The building was evacuated. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Chuck Goetz, who has lived in an apartment in the area for the past three months, told The Baltimore Sun that he heard three explosions this morning.

Initially, he thought they were fireworks until the explosions got louder, Goetz said. After the third explosion, he left his home and saw a manhole cover blown off with charred brick surrounding it, Goetz said.

“The explosions were really like they had me running for cover,” Goetz said. “I looked out the window because I was trying to get back to sleep and saw firemen at the church after the first explosion. To me, clearly something was going on. They knew something was going on before the really loud explosion.”

The fire department, BGE and the Baltimore City Department of Transportation were on the scene Friday.

The 600-700 block of South Charles Street and Light Street, and the unit block of East Conway Street and Montgomery Street, were closed off.

BGE started their work on the outside of the building and power was restored to the area, the fire department said Friday afternoon. BGE requested their sign boards and flaggers, so a lane could be opened on Light Street.