Charles Street pub reopens weeks after uncertainty following an underground fire

BALTIMORE -- A downtown restaurant has reopened weeks after closing following an underground fire on North Charles Street.

Mick O'Shea's Irish Pub posted a video on social media marking a new beginning after the fire.

"After weeks of uncertainty and repairs, we can't wait to see everybody back at the bar!" the post said.

Restaurant managers declined interviews to speak about the fire. Though, one customer said he was happy to have lunch at Mick O'Shea's on Friday.

"It's the best food on Charles Street," said Jim Macalister, a frequent customer at Mick's. "We're glad to have them back. We love the people that own Mick's and the servers who work there. When they're closed, they're not earning."

The business reopened weeks after the Sept. 29th underground fire on N. Charles Street.

City leaders demanding answers

As the pub and other businesses work to recover, city leaders are pressing for answers.

Last Friday, the Mayor's Office held a private meeting with phone, utility, and cable companies.

Then on Wednesday, the Public Safety and Government Oversight Committee held a hearing with multiple city agencies to discuss where the investigation stands.

City Councilman Mark Conway led the conversation. "We've had multiple fires in the last year in this same area," Conway said at the meeting. "It doesn't give me much assurance that there's really anything that we're going to do differently."

Cause of the fire undetermined

Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said right now, the cause of the fire is undetermined. He also explained some challenges his investigators have faced.

"We do not have the ability to place a fire investigator underground given confined space laws," he said.

Chief Wallace added investigators need to see a fire scene in its original state as much as possible.

"So, it makes it extraordinarily difficult if the fire is located under the street and in conduit," he said. "We can certainly develop hypotheses, if you will but again, there are challenges with doing that as well."

Committee members raised several questions concerning what could have contributed to the fire and if the city's infrastructure played a role. Baltimore City Department of Transportation Director Corren Johnson said it's too early to say.

"From the fire in January, some of the conduit areas that were impacted this time were replaced," she said. "Some of what was a part of this fire was new. So, it wasn't necessarily an age type of thing."

Conway also asked about what might've caused the two previous fires on Charles Street earlier this year. Johnson said they do not know and added they are looking at any recent issues related to those fires.

In a statement Friday, the Mayor's Office wrote: 'The Public Safety and Government Oversight Committee held a hearing to better understand the safety concerns with the underground infrastructure this past Wednesday. We learned the City is working with parties to determine the cause of these incidents and begin addressing these challenges."