Eastern Railroad Discussion > Johnny Floyd Files: "Fire in the Railroad Station!"

On January 14, 1992, a Laurel, MD. police officer spotted a fire at 14:45 hours in the 1884 B&O station. Fire and rescue units from Laurel responded and found the waiting room fully involved, with flames being driven by a stiff breeze up into the attic.
More fire companies from Prince Georges, Montgomery, Howard, and Anne Arundel counties were summoned, bringing 65 firefighters and over a dozen pieces of fire and rescue equipment.
CSX freight traffic was stopped, and the afternoon's schedule of MARC commuter trains was delayed.

Johnny, a former member of the Laurel VFD, heard the first dispatch on his scanner, and went to the scene, arriving a few minutes after the first fire trucks.

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The fire in the attic was finally stopped by a crew on an aerial ladder from Berwyn Heights VFD.
It took almost 2 hours for the fire to be extinguished.

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The fire caused $175,000 damage to the historic station.
Only 1 firefighter suffered a minor injury
Due to the narrow streets next to the depot, and a restricted underpass, some creative positioning of fire apparatus was done.

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MARC trains were eventually permitted to use the south platform after fire hoses and personnel were removed.
A trailer was moved into the parking lot to serve as a ticket office.
Renovation started on the station that spring, however the interior was not restored to original condition.
2 years later, the exterior repairs are complete as an eastbound MARC train with an x-BN E9 pauses by the station.

Photos by Johnny Floyd, my collection
Info from newspaper articles and an article written by Johnny for East Coast Firefighter Magazine; 2nd quarter 1992 issue



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/23 06:06 by bigsavage.

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Thank you for sharing.

I'm glad to see it was saved. Most likely if it had not been an active railroad station it would have been demolished.

Victor Baird