Volunteer Firefighters Rally In Wake Of Injury

County volunteer firefighters are expressing sympathy and solidarity in the wake of an early morning fire that killed one man and left a firefighter seriously injured.

"We in the fire service are an extremely tight knit group," said Capt. Jeff Wickline of the Arcadia Volunteer Fire Company in Upperco, in an emailed statement. "When a tragedy like this occurs we have to be able to maintain composure while still being capable of completing our tasks at hand.

The early morning fire at a three-story Victorian house at 19 Hanover Road in Reisterstown took the life of Steven Starr.

Gene Kirchner, a 7-year veteran of the Reisterstown Volunteer Fire Company, was seriously injured while fighting the fire. He was listed Wednesday afternoon in critical condition at Shock Trauma.

"An injury to a fellow firefighter like this hits us all very hard. We begin to realize just how vulnerable we are to the ravages of our jobs and hobbies," Wickline wrote. "It is, however, in times like these when we are able to pull together as a community and do whatever it takes to help one another. We all take comfort in knowing that an army of brothers and sisters in the fire service are praying for us and will be there in our hardest times."

Five dozen fire fighters from Baltimore and Carroll Counties assisted in putting out the fire.

Neighboring fire companies from both counties will be filling in the Reisterstown Volunteer Fire Company as needed, according to the statement released by the Arcadia Volunteer Fire Company.