* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Burnett
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
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Investigative Hearing - Arson and Fire Fatality Awareness: Re-instituting the Baltimore City Joint Agency Arson Task Force
For the purpose of inviting representatives from the Baltimore City Fire Department, the Baltimore Police Department, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, the Baltimore City Health Department, the Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice, the Baltimore City Public School System, and the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services to appear before the City Council to discuss arsons, fire fatalities and injuries, and school fires; how we can work to re-institute the Joint Agency Arson Task Force; and discuss other tools that would assist in the prevention or prosecution of arson.
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Recitals
Baltimore City ended 2020 with 7 fire fatalities, the lowest number of fire related deaths in the history of the Baltimore City Fire Department. Despite this historic milestone, the Baltimore City Fire Department closed out the decade with over 2,400 cases of arson, 185 fire fatalities, and 250 school fires. By any measure, Baltimore City has a fire problem.
Arsons endanger the lives of citizens, who are often innocent bystanders of these acts, and Fire Department personnel who are called on to respond to these incidents. Arson destroys more than buildings; it can devastate a community resulting in the decline of econ...
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