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Downtown Baltimore underground fire has restaurant owner concerned about long-term impacts - CBS Baltimore

Published 9 hours ago3 minute read

/ CBS Baltimore

CBS News Live

CBS News Baltimore Live

The owner of a downtown Baltimore restaurant near where an underground fire broke out this past weekend is concerned about potential long-term effects. 

Crews are still working to repair damages caused by the fire. Baltimore Street at Guilford Avenue reopened on Monday, but other road closures continue to create detours for drivers.

William Shea, the owner of Two Guys City Cafe, told WJZ that the longer the repairs take, the more worried he is about the future impacts.

The road closures threw off Shea as he made his way to his restaurant, Two Guys City Cafe, on South Street. It's a block south of where Saturday's underground fire sparked.

"I went to come and drop things off in front of the building and couldn't get down to any of the roads," Shea said. "I had to go all the way around, go in the parking garage, and unload everything."

The road closures also prevented his restaurant's weekly food delivery from coming, forcing a last-minute fix.

"I really just had to go to the grocery store because we start fresh every week with all of our food in house," Shea said.

Shea said business on Monday was steady, but he is worried that if the closures stay in effect long enough, his foot traffic could be negatively impacted.

Until that's the case, Shea said he and his business will be adapting where they can.

"My main concern is whether or not the people will be able to get into the building throughout the day," Shea said. "Other than that, the orders and all, we'll work around it."

Calls first came in about the fire close to 3 p.m. Saturday, according to the Baltimore City Fire Department.

Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE) reported that there was extensive steam damage to underground systems.

This is the third underground fire in the downtown area in the last 18 months. The previous two happened along a stretch of North Charles Street, which caused significant damage to some businesses there.

There was also an underground fire at the Baltimore Street and Guilford Avenue intersection two years ago.

An investigation into the cause of Saturday's fire is ongoing. We also still don't know what caused the previous two underground fires from last year.

"Right now, we don't have a timeframe on when the investigation will conclude," said Khalilah Yancey, the deputy fire chief for the Baltimore City Fire Department. "We will have our units diligently working to find the cause of the fire."

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