BALTIMORE (AP) - Officials say a fire at a downtown Baltimore courthouse forced evacuation of the building as a hearing was going on to extend voting time in the city. No one was hurt.
Heavy smoke was billowing from the basement of the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse complex late Tuesday afternoon. Fire Department spokesman Capt. Roman Clark says the small fire was quickly extinguished.
Maj. Sabrina Tapp-Harper, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore City Sheriff’s Office, says the electrical fire was limited to the basement.
Clark says underground machinery may have overheated, causing a lot of smoke. Firefighters were waiting for utility crews to investigate.
Baltimore City Circuit Judge Althea M. Handy moved a hearing on a request to extend voting time from a courtroom to the sidewalk and then a garage.
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