A federal judge has given our clients, the families of three Baltimore firefighters killed in the 2022 Stricker Street Fire, another chance to hold the city accountable. On August 13, 2026, U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox ruled that the families of Lt. Paul Butrim, Lt. Kelsey Sadler, and EMT/firefighter Kenny Lacayo, along with injured firefighter/EMT John McMaster, may file an amended complaint against Baltimore City. The ruling revives claims of negligence, wrongful death, and “state-created danger,” a legal theory arguing that city officials knowingly made a dangerous situation worse for the firefighters who lost their lives and were injured in the January 24, 2022 fire at a vacant rowhome on South Stricker Street.
This is not the first attempt to hold the city accountable. Judge Maddox dismissed the original complaint in February 2026, ruling that it had not shown the city intentionally put firefighters in danger, and an earlier lawsuit raising similar claims had already been dismissed more than a year before that. This time, Maddox found that sworn statements (affidavits) attached to the amended complaint addressed that gap. The amended complaint alleges the city knowingly sent firefighters into “structurally compromised homes” without telling them, “flouting federal law designed to protect” them, after quietly discontinuing a safety program (once known as Code X-Ray) meant to flag unsafe vacant buildings, then covering up that the program had lapsed. It also accuses the city of running a “profit-sharing scheme” that kept unsafe properties, including 205 S. Stricker St., off demolition and condemnation lists in blighted neighborhoods. “The City chose corruption over the Constitution and revenue over individual rights at all relevant times,” the amended complaint states.
An earlier report from a panel of emergency officials had already found that Baltimore lacked policies for vacant buildings at the time of the fire and that the battalion chief on scene was overloaded with radio traffic, findings that led to the resignation of then-Fire Chief Niles Ford.
Our clients are represented by Miller Stern Lawyers LLC, together with co-counsel Ken Berman of Berman | Sobin | Gross LLP, and Allen Honick and Dustin Furman of Furman Honick Law. Berman, one of the attorneys on this legal team, called the ruling “the first step” and said the team plans to “stay the course” after enduring multiple dismissals, adding that he has believed in the case from the beginning. He also said the city has refused to meet with the families, and that he is “a bit distressed” by its decision to fight the case at every stage. Sub:BusinessName} has represented the Butrim, Sadler, Lacayo, and McMaster families since 2022, and together with our co-counsel, we will keep pushing for the answers and accountability our clients and their families deserve. If you have questions about this case, call (410) 529-3476 or visit our Stricker Street Fire Lawyers case page to learn more about the full legal team standing with these families.