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Lieutenants Paul Butrim and Kelsey Sadler as well as Firefighter/EMT Kenneth Lacayo were killed after a vacant home on South Stricker Street collapsed on Jan. 24, Baltimore Police said.
The State Medical Examiner's office later ruled the three had died from injuries sustained while trying to extinguish the fire. Now, the ATF Baltimore field has classified the fire as incendiary.
"Thoughts of Lt. Butrim, Lt. Sadler, and Firefighter/EMT Lacayo every step of this investigation," said ATF Special Agent In Charge Toni M. Crosby in a statement on Twitter. "The incendiary classification is an important step forward in this investigation."
The Joint Committee of the Baltimore Firefighters Association also released a statement on Twitter, calling the news "bittersweet."
"It is reopening a terrible wound that is only in the earliest stages of healing," the statement read. "On the other hand, we now have confirmed our suspicions that this was a criminal act."
The ATF said they have identified a person of interest and that no additional tips from the public are needed at this time. The investigation in ongoing.
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