It is hard for me to believe that it has been almost thirteen years since I was sent up to Baltimore to cover the death of Firefighter Eric Schaefer. I remember my first impression after seeing the scene at Clipper Mill the day after the fire and thinking how amazing it was that the other firefighters survived the wall collapse.
On Wednesday, family, friends and fellow firefighters returned to the now restored complex to dedicate a plaque honoring Firefighter Schaefer. Our friend Michael Schwartzberg took the pictures on this page and wrote the words below. Click here to see many more of Michael’s pictures.
You can also watch a report from WJZ-TV.
Distinctive sounds filling the air from a pair of Baltimore City Fire Department bagpipers, colorful flags passing with the Honor Guard and a prayer from the department Chaplain lent pomp and circumstance to an event at Clipper Mill on Wednesday night recognizing the Supreme Sacrifice made by a firefighter almost 13 years ago.
On September 16, 1995, BCFD Firefighter Eric Dorian Schaefer responded with his crew aboard Rescue 1 to what would end up being a 10-alarm blaze as heavy fire tore through an industrial building in the Clipper Mill complex. It would be FF Schaefer’s final response.
“Firefighters encountered a fire that had taken pretty good hold of the midsection of the building,” said BCFD Deputy Chief of Operations Donald Heinbuch. As crews battled the intense conditions in an attempt to save as much of the complex as they could, the 430-foot long wall fell, striking many firefighters, including Schaefer. “It was a night that changed the lives of many,” Heinbuch said.
Members of Schaefer’s family, BCFD firefighters, friends, neighborhood residents and others gathered at the site where the firefighter was killed to dedicate a plaque in his memory. During the tribute, Schaefer’s parents were presented with their son’s tattered fire helmet as a way of remembering their son.
Originally built in 1851, Clipper Mill historically has been the site of grist mills, machine manufacturing plants, sail cloth and cast iron production. Today, local firm Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse is historically rehabbing and renovating the site into a mixed-use project boasting art studios, office tenants and residential rental and for sale units.
“I think Eric would be proud of what has come out of the ashes,” said Fred Struever.
The plaque recognizes the heroic efforts of Schaefer and his colleagues and includes a photo of Schaefer on his graduation day from the BCFD Fire Academy in 1994 and a photo, courtesy of the Baltimore Sun, from the fire scene.
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