it is difficult to battle the blaze. our roof collapsed inside the four-story building, forcing firefighters to evacuate an attack the fire only from the outside. co-workers in adjacent buildings were evacuated as a precaution. the building was vacant at the time and there are no reports of anyone being inside. fells point residents say it was a grocery store at one time it was the reliable department store. many people watched as firefighters handled the blaze. with me right now is the fire chief to tell me more about what is been going on. any idea of what was burning inside? the smoke was so dark, thick, and heavy. >> we have not been able to get in there to look at the cause yet. it did run the firefighters out pretty quickly. >> can you tell us about the two firefighters that were injured and what is going on? >> axel we just had one firefighter injury. there was some confusion.

it is minor injuries. at this point, thankfully, no one was seriously hurt. >> can you talk about trying to attack this? there was so much smoke all around the block. >> back on register street, it was hard to get apparatus in their. is a narrow street. we did surrounded on all sides but it was really tough because the fire was in the middle of the block and there was no way to get to it. >> thank you for talking with us, i appreciate it. we did hear that there were two people that were injured, but the chief has mentioned to clarify, only one firefighter was injured. reporting live from fells point, barry simms, wbal-tv 11 news. >> minor injuries, that is certainly good news. our live team coverage continues tonight. skyteam 11 is above the fire, which has caused a number of

traffic difficulties around the fells point area and probably is having a ripple effect. >> with all that equipment that barry was talking about, and eastern avenue, broadway, bank street, register street, it is a lot due to the fact that they have so much fire equipment spread from a large area. the only way to get back and forth right now is on fleet street, which will be the main drag to use instead of eastern avenue. we have not seen any major types at the present time because baltimore city police are on the scene, redirecting traffic. they have detour is pretty much set up an even the traffic is heavy, it is moving but smoothly. >> investigation is underway tonight into what sparked the a late night house are in howard county. fire crews provided us with these photographs. the family's three car garage

fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene. the flames broke out just before midnight in the 10,000 lot of skags bill wrote in laurell. --scagsville road. >> lady tell from the eastern shore where an unmanned aircraft has gone down. -- late photographs from the eastern shore. no injuries have yet been reported. baltimore county police are investigating the body about woman found in wilkins as a murder. darfur recalled to frederick road around 10:30 yesterday morning -- crews were called to frederick road. the have not given information on how she was murdered. anyone who may have noticed

anything suspicious in that area over the weekend is urged to contact metro crime stoppers. now to our other big story tonight, the sexual abuse trial of jerry sandusky. the prosecution laying out details about what they are calling a systematic behavior by serial predator. brian moore has the very latest. >> his wife was here and so were his supporters, but the first evidence can only be described as disturbing. in opening statements, two the virgin profiles. the former penn state assistant football coach was described as the -- described by the prosecution as a serial predator and by his defense as a father figure who is being victimized. the prosecutor showed photos of the eight known victims, each picture as they were at the

time of the alleged abuse. one by one, he painted a vivid picture of young men and the abuse they allegedly discovered. >> the prosecution put up a series of pictures of each one of the victims at the time the alleged abuse began. in the jury's mind, for the course of this time, -- through the course of the fall, they will associate those victims with the images they saw all of these men as adolescent boys. >> the first victim was 13 when he met sandusky and described her relationship that began with showers and escalated into physical acts. publicly, the witness said sandusky would act like his father, but when they were alone "basically like i was his girlfriend." the jury was sworn that the victims or very young at the time of the views and every -- their reaction for as children. events -- the defense attorneys said his client admits to showering with young boys but

said it was simply part of the football culture, not a crime. he pointed out that at least six of the accusers have their own civil attorneys and the financial interest in the outcome of this case. >> she has been the subject of more than one i-team report. tonight her fate rests with the jury. at issue was whether she got the state to pay for an employee in her law firm. she continues to serve in the house of delegates and as a member of the house judiciary committee. we have uncovered her record which shows for driving privileges have been suspended after she was caught driving with suspended tax. she is also accused of using campaign funds to finance her wedding. >> a busy week in downtown baltimore. commemorating the bicentennial of the war of 1812 by land, by sea, and by air. lowell melser is live in federal

hill where preparations are now underway. >> things are just getting started here at the inner harbor for this year's star spangled sailabration. as you can see behind me, they have a ferris wheel set up and a couple of tents here and there around the inner harbor. they are expected in several hundred thousand people to be in baltimore from thursday through monday. it is expected to be the city's biggest maritime event ever. the inner harbor may seem quite right now, but within the next couple of days, it will be transformed to resemble a scene out of 1812, at least on the water. >> we are very excited. years of planning, hundreds of volunteers, hundreds of partners, corporate and in government and federal. we are very excited to welcome the world to maryland. >> 45 attala ships will start arriving -- tall ships will

start arriving for maryland star spangled sailabration, which is expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors. >> we have a dozen restaurants gearing up for door-to-door service. lots of retailers are gearing up with staff and merchandised to appeal to the masses. we are gearing up our staff. all hands on deck this weekend to make sure we provide a safe and secure and family friendly atmosphere. >> action will not be limited to the harbor. an air show will take place at 40 henry and ships will be docked at locust point and fells point. -- at fort mchenry. over at the point, and businesses in the area are expecting a huge weekend, including all kinds of food and drink specials. >> every restaurant and shop in fells point is gearing up to have an extremely busy weekend. it is a great thing to be of a

showcase all these local restaurants and shops. >> area attractions will be offering all kinds of discounts as well. parking will be at a premium, so public transportation is recommended. organizers say on top of all the fun, it will be quite a history lesson for young and old. >> a lot of history is associated with it, as well as a chance to show off some of the great ships and sailors we have in the navy today. we have three large ships from our navy coming in as well as ships from around the world. >> there is a laundry list of specials and events going on in and around the city. for more information, log onto our web site, wbaltv.com. lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> i guess the object here is to get the rain out of the way before all that stuff gets started. there is some rain in the forecast, a little bit of stuff

going on right now. out on the eastern shore, a couple of isolated showers, not any thunder or lightning with this and it is more or less stationary. not really related to the storm coming in. a stalled front of the delaware bay, that is rain that has developed. a lot more to the south and west of us but it will be moving in tomorrow. the forecast coming up in just a copy minutes. >> it looks as though derrick mason is ready to stop running. the news of his retirement came late this afternoon. gerry sandusky joins us live in the studio with the very latest. >> he spent less than half of his career here in baltimore but he wanted to go out as a raven, and today the team made that happen for him. mason made his retirement official today.

he spent six of his 15 years in the nfl with the ravens. he leaves as the all-time winning receiver. more than 12 per thousand receiving yards, the 19th most in nfl history. he regrets the lack of a super bowl ring. he came close as a titan. he never missed a game in his six seasons here in baltimore. even non-bill remains his hometown, baltimore remains what he considers his football hong -- even though nashville remains his home town. >> i enjoyed my journey. it was fun. i am sorry i did not get an opportunity while i was playing to bring another super bowl to the city, but i think you are all in good hands. there are not many places you can go and play some good football, go to another team and they let you come back and retire. that speaks volumes. >> the ravens general manager

played made -- paid mason a tremendous compliment saying he did more than any ravens addition ever. tomorrow the team begins its mandatory minicamp in preparing for the upcoming season. >> he is so articulate. he spoke very well. new details on what was initially geared to be a terrorist attack in downtown d.c. >> a five-foot snake is found in the parking lot. the parking lot. a live report, c

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>> police say that the driver crashed into this office building was trying to use a lighter when officers arrived on the scene. new details becoming forward about the incident that has charles ball facing charges. authorities think he intentionally crashed into a building less than a mile from the white house. a gasoline container was found by a woman who had filed a restraining order against him. in case you are just joining us, we are closely monitoring some breaking news out of fells

point. a five-alarm fire at a vacant warehouse is causing a ripple effect for traffic downtown. we will go back to captain roy taylor for the very latest. >> they are trying to get this fire somewhat under control. the firefighters are telling us that are just dealing with hot spot. you can see the fire is pretty much just a lot of smoke. they are concerned that the walls might collapse on the back and sides of the building. right now, crews have been able to go inside the facility to attack it. the only thing reported burning inside right now is trash and debris. broadway at eastern avenue is pretty much shut down in both directions along with beck street, fleet street, and one area of register street. we are still monitoring the area here in fells point.

we'll update you as we get more information. and captain roy taylor. >> we began tonight's medical alert with an expanded warning from the fda. we told you about the original version several weeks ago, a warning not to eat any fresh, frozen, or processed smallest and shellfish from korea. it goes back to three years for anything can come including oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops. the concern is inadequate sanitation controls. shell fish may have been exposed to human fecal waste. anything wrong and produced in maryland is not affected by this warning, it is only for korea. if you think the more water you drink, the better it is for health, that could have some dangerous consequences. can you drink too much water? the answer is in tonight's report.

>> jessica has been running for about a year. when she does, she made sure her water bottle is handy. >> i usually drink a whole will -- a whole bottle of water while i am running. >> jessica did not know that drinking too much water can hurt you. >> i did not know that. i have heard that you could, but i did not believe it. >> of mercy medical center art doctor says drinking too much water and dilute the amount of essential sodium in your blood. >> the problem is it can lower your sodium significantly to levels that can cause confusion and other problems. if you deplete that sodium to quickly, there could actually be brain damaged 3 >> the warning signs of water intoxication can be similar to dehydration. nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, with one exception, frequent urination. >> is kind of scary, i guess. i don't know how much is too

much. >> you should at least take the baseline intake, whether you are running or not, about 100 species of water every half- hour. a little bit less than half a cup, and probably double that if you are in a situation of running. >> the doctor says a dangerous amount to drink is quite a lot, about 2 gallons or more a day, which can produce at risk for water intoxication. >> take a look at the doppler radar. those little sprinkle showing up on the eastern shore, an isolated shower activity, no lightning or thunder with that. a few showers out in west virginia and parts of garrett county. a set up for the rain that is on the way. some good storms down in the carolinas. some strong storms in western

tennessee and kentucky as well. more on that in a moment. changes are coming in the weather. the beautiful weather we have had for the past few days is grinding to a halt. the average temperatures so far this month has been 68.4 degrees, 1.1 degrees below normal. we are little above normal for rainfall, not quite half an inch. we do have rain in the forecast tomorrow. everything you see in orange here is in that eight's to around 90 degrees. the yellow shade you see, the yellow and green out to the west is where the clouds have been bigger and there is some rain out there. you can see the cooling effect of that out in western maryland and west virginia and virginia at this time. here is the satellite image. there is a front sitting over the delaware bay so we have a wind shift that has helped

generate a little sprinkles an isolated showers on the eastern shore. this moisture out to the west of us is associated with the next form coming in. there is a stalled front that is dissipating and going away. the high pressure is moving out of the picture, too. this cold front is coming in. ahead of it, warm, humid air is being ushered in. we have had a lot of rain in the southeastern part of the u.s. and some of that moisture will visit us over the next 24-48 hours. a shower or a thundershower and chances will be increasing, 67- 73 for the low. up around 80 tomorrow with a lot of clouds. could be heavy rain shower in there with south and southeast winds. small craft advisories are in effect. the futurecast shows all this rain coming in. the heaviest of it will be on tuesday. once we get past tuesday, rain chances go way down, a 20

percent chance on wednesday and thursday, and cooler temperatures as well. i next week and we look dry as temperatures begin to rebound a little. >> coming up, authorities are shedding more light on not one but to hit and run cases centered around commerce secretary john bryson. >> will have a live report on that when we come back. that when we come back. >> call will tell you who

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>> a member of the president's cabinet has been ticketed for felony hit and run into traffic accidents in los angeles over the weekend. >> the obama administration says commerce secretary john bryson suffered a seizure behind the wheel. he has been released from hospital. >> a los angeles county sheriff's office says commerce secretary bryson was driving his

personal car saturday afternoon when he rear ended another vehicle. after speaking briefly with the three occupants, officers said bryson had the car again as he was driving off. minutes later, he struck another car. bryson was found unconscious and taken to a local hospital where he spent the night for observation. the commerce department says he suffered a seizure. the white house says the president was told about the incident this morning. >> obviously we are concerned about the incident and his health-related issues that play a role in this incident. we are still gathering information about it. >> a share a spokesman said they are still investigating whether a seizure did in fact cause the accident. he said there is no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved. sally kidd, wbal-tv 11 news. >> teachers in harford county who have been fed up with low

pay and long hours may be getting the answers they have been waiting for parry >> details on a new agreement that impacts about a half-dozen schools. >> city police said an officer shot and killed a pitbull over the weekend. the weekend.

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>> live, local, late-breaking. you are watching wbal-tv 11 news at 5:00 in hd with dan stovall, donna hamilton, and chief meteorologist tom tasselmyer. >> we want to update you on that intense fire in downtown fells point, where a vacant warehouse fire escalated to five alarms. we have been covering it sends about 2:00 this afternoon. gary sims has been following the breaking news. what is the latest there? >> there are firefighters coming down off the roof of one of the buildings. they have been checking several of the buildings and trying to determine more about the fire.

this was a five-alarm fire, very intense, thick, black smoke and heavy flames, intense heat. very difficult for firefighters to handle. this happened around 1:40 this afternoon. firefighters did try to go into the four-story building, which we are told was a grocery store and at one time at the reliable department store. they did try to go inside and while inside, one of the roofs collapsed. at that point had to come out and attack the fire from the outside. firefighters began on broadway -- on fleet street, several blocks around trying to handle this. we are told that one firefighter was injured, that his injuries were minor. at one time we thought there two firefighters injured, but we have been told since then that only one was injured and he had minor injuries. a lot of people were walking

around just watching the fire, many wearing masks and others with clothing over their mouths and noses to keep away from heavy smoke as much as they could. 120-135 firefighters were here trying to handle this blaze. >> that smoke is incredible. >> us snake scare in baltimore county. animal control officials had their hands full this weekend with what was initially reported as a seven-foot python. it turns out it was a five-foot long rat snake, but it caused quite an ordeal. >> rob roblin joins us with the latest. >> the snake was here in this parking lot. no one knows where it came from or how it got here, but there it was last night, just slithering around the parking lot. when police got to the scene,

this is what they found. a five-foot black rat snake. police immediately called animal control. >> an officer simply pick him up and put him in a pillowcase. >> the rat snake was under a car in this parking lot. at first there rumors that the snake was 7 feet long and was a python. it turned out to be 5 feet long and it was a black rat snake. >> it was most likely someone's pet. he looks a little different than our native rattlesnakes, which is why i say it was most likely a pet. some are bred specifically for the pet trade. >> the snake is harmless unless you are a rat. it was probably someone's pet. >> this is a harmless species of snake. i would not be holding it if it wasn't. they are constrictors. they eat rats, mice, birds. in the wild, they are great at climbing trees, which is why he

is hanging on to my arm so well. >> today at the parking lot where the snake was found, some folks were not so excited about a snake in their presence. >> i am glad it was rescued. >> i would be still running. >> others were concerned about its safety and whether it will someday find a new home. >> i had five pet snakes when i was a kid. >> you are concerned about the snake? >> absolutely. what did they do with it? >> it is in a shelter now, being taken care of. if nobody claims the snake, it will be put up for adoption. rob roblin, wbal-tv 11 news. >> here is a look at some of our other top stories at this hour. derrick mason has retired as a member of the ravens. the 38-year-old wide receiver

announced his decision within the last few hours. he said the decision was not difficult and he wanted to leave as a raven because "my heart was here." he never missed a game in over six seasons as a raven. he had more than 5,800 yards of receiving. an update to a story we first brought you last night at 11:00. city police confirm a plainclothes police officer shot and killed a pitbull during an investigation in southwest baltimore and stafford street at the end of a foot pursuit of a drug suspect. police said the officer had been running after the suspect, who then ran into a house on stafford. that is when the pitbull came barreling toward the officer, who reacted by opening fire on the animal. >> baltimore is no longer one of the top five cities when it comes to the national murder rate. it had 196 murders for the year

of 2011, putting baltimore at no. 6 a list of cities whitcomb i homicide numbers. -- a list of cities with a high homicide number pig >> president obama and mitt romney are taking opposing positions on public servants like police officers. it is not the work they do that is at issue, it is their pay. steve handelsman explains in washington. >> the new battle is over public employees, firefighters, police, teachers, to put more of them back to work. president obama is demanding congress fund his plan to help states, cities, and towns with payrolls. the new obama ad shows mitt romney opposed. >> did he not get the message in wisconsin? the american people did. it is time to cut back on government and help the american people.

>> team obama says governor romney tried to cut public employees. but in wisconsin last week, unionized public employees lost. many voters upset, those workers get good benefits at taxpayers' expense. >> they are great public servants. >> explanation is what the white house is still trying, after the president said friday the private economic sector is "fine." >> a reduction in the public sector, that was the context in which he was speaking. >> but a new rahm the ad features the obama quote. >> the private sector is doing fine. >> in fact, some parts of the private sector are relatively fine, saddam is doing some still stuck in resection reject some are still stuck in recession.

-- some are still stuck in recession. from washington, i am steve handelsman, wbal-tv 11 news. >> we are learning more about president obama's drug to baltimore tomorrow. president obama will be delivering remarks at the hyatt regency at the inner harbor, part of a fund-raising reception for his campaign. it will kick off at around 1:15 with remarks at 3:45. he plans to take part in a private fund-raiser. streetcity's popular u is under constru

the car on the left was filled up with low detergent gasoline. while the car on the right was filled up with bp gasoline with invigorate. which helps clean and protect its engine so it can get a few more miles per tank than the car on the left. go a little farther with bp gasoline with invigorate.

>> the tentative agreement in harford county on language and salary enhancements for teachers. educators have been pushing for change after not having raised this in more than three years. the new deal includes a 1% cost- of-living allowance for eligible teachers and longevity increases for other teachers. it is scheduled to go into

effect on july 1. >> and other traffic alert for anyone who commutes to d.c. work got under way to overhaul the popular u street. expected to be a construction zone for the next year. parking will also be restricted. >> extreme heat is causing some schools -- closing some schools in the northeast. >> flooding in are around the northern port of panhandle. >> the time apparently is now to fill up your gas tank. analysts predict prices will bottom out. that is ahead in our consumer alert. >> the oyster is coming our way. the forecast -- moisture is coming our way. right now is try and ocean city. 85 at the airport, 91 at the

what coming up at 6:00, the proposed baltimore city bottle tax is once again rearing its ugly head. president and mitt romney are fine-tuning their campaign messages. the latest in commitment 2012. finally, it will be quite the star spangled sailabration in baltimore city. how it plans to commemorate the bicentennial of the war of 1812. these stories and much

>> here is a look at some breaking news we have been bringing you throughout the hour. of five alarm fire in downtown fells point. firefighters have been on the scene since just before 2:00 this afternoon. at least one firefighter has been injured, but we are told that the injuries are minor. firefighters figured the roof would collapse so they were ordered to evacuate the interior quite some time ago. they are only fighting in from the outside. nearby residents and business owners have been evacuated as a precaution. traffic is a mess in that area. a record while fire rages on in new mexico and there is another one on the nevada-utah border that has turned deadly. chris clackum has the details. >> from flooding the wildfires, across the country, extreme conditions are making it a difficult and dangerous start to

the summer season. >> children, when driven, the conditions have not been favorable. we have good reason to believe there are over 100 structures within that area that are damaged or destroyed. but this massive 20,000 acre blaze in the call right amount is consuming everything in its path. >> my house is gone and now i am not going to have a home. i have no place to go. >> hundreds fear for their homes in new mexico as well. >> is a really scary. it is heartbreaking. >> it stretches over another 10,000 acres and continues to grow, more than a dozen wildfires putting a strain on crews and equipment. >> we are competing for resources in new mexico and other locations. it is difficult to get resources at this point. >> it is relief that is difficult to find along the gulf coast.

driving rain in pensacola and in many areas that shut down the city. in alabama, 2 inches of rain and our washed away roads and forced thousands to scramble to higher ground. even as the water slowly begins to recede, it is clear that the damage here is widespread and devastating. from the east coast through the midwest, extreme heat is the concern. the forecast calls for the hottest day of the year so far in dallas. >> now, your forecast with john collins. >> while all that has been going on, here in our area we have had some pretty good weather. a little on the warm side, but not that extreme weather that has been going on. this evening we are beginning to see some shower activity developed. a few sprinkles and showers in the northeast corner of the

state. parts of cecil county getting a little bit of that and more of it to the west. a lot more cloudiness doubt in virginia and west virginia and maryland. this is some of that moisture that has been falling in the southeastern states, finally working its way in our direction. we do have some rain in the forecast. as far as the 24-dollar pollen count, grass pollen is in the high range and we pollen in the low range, almost of the scale. nothing going on in that area right now. brown the chesapeake bay, mid- 80's to around 90 degrees. ocean city is only 76 right now. the yellow and green out to the west, the clouds have been bigger out there all day and they are getting more shower activity. maybe a few readings in the 60's out there. here is the satellite picture.

a weak front along the delaware bay, and some of these isolated sprinkles and showers have developed on the eastern shore, a lot more cloudiness to the west of us. the weak front is dissipating and has nothing to do the weather coming our way. high pressure has given us great weather since the middle of last week. that is moving out of the picture and will allow the strong cold front to come in. look at all the moisture ahead of this thing. there are too strong winds of thunderstorms approaching the southeast coast of georgia. earlier, over 20 inches of rain in parts of coastal florida. that moisture is coming in and we have rain in the forecast. scattered showers and thundershowers tonight, mostly cloudy skies. tomorrow not as warm as today. it will be human, mostly cloudy skies and rain and thunderstorms. one or two of those showers --

how much rain could be dead before it's over? some areas may get an inch or two of rain out of this whole thing before it finally winds down. the future cash shows the heaviest of the rain in the forecast for tomorrow, by the time again to wednesday and thursday it will be moving and out of the picture. the seven-day forecast, 81 tomorrow and on wednesday, only in the seventh's on thursday. the highest range chances will be tomorrow. the rain chances are minimal on wednesday and thursday. drier as we go into the weekend with a temperature recovery as well. >> we began tonight's consumer alert with a look at wall street, where stocks closed sharply lower. the dow was down 143 points. the nasdaq down nearly 50 points. investors are skeptical right now that a deal to save spanish banks will do much to resolve

the debt crisis in europe. one says the commitment is a temporary fix as investors await the outcome of an election in greece. new tonight, now is apparently good time to fill up your tank. average gas prices have dropped again for the 26 straight time here in baltimore. we are looking at an average of $3.40 a gallon. it would think that was a bargain, compared to a couple of years ago? the national average is also down at $3.56. compared to this time last month, we are paying 25 cents less per gallon of gas. analysts say prices usually bottom out in june. aaa is predicting a 8 million drivers will get stranded at some point during the summer travel season. that is between memorial day and labor day. company officials are recommending ways you can avoid that fate, like inspecting your tires before your trip. not just on the vehicle, don't

forget to check this bear as well. they sure all five are properly inflated and inspect the tread depth. also check your car battery and be sure to refuel -- refill your windshield wiper fluid and replace those wiper blades. there is a pass for breach at the linkedin site. an investigation is under way as to how hackers have stolen more than 6.5 million user names and passwords. most people use the same password across different web sites. >> when your password on one side has been reached, hackers are smart and they now to go to other web sites and try that password on those sites. >> the best advice is to maintain what is called good password hygiene. change it often, every three-six months, and use a password that would be hard to detect.

>> we are getting our first look at the next version of apple's software. the latest edition since the beginning of the conference in sentences go. apple is integrating facebook, which will allow users to update their status by simply speaking into their phones. siri has been going to school. apple will add a host of new language to siri. baltimore city's proposed bottle tax is up for discussion today at city hall. we will have the latest, straight ahead. >> the winners of a nationwide contest today in canton. i am kim dacey and i have details, next.

>> the believe in tomorrow children's foundation has been helping critically ill children

and their families for 30 years now. >> they are getting the word out about their organization. kim dacey was there. >> the believe in tomorrow house got wrapped monday. the nonprofit won the national contest called imagine that, we can wrap it. they picked five finalists from the submission and voters online possibly pick the winner. >> it was just a unique design and request that they wanted. we thought that the cause was a really good cause. >> believe in tomorrow provides free, temporary housing to the families of sick kids. there are parts for children who have received bone marrow transplants at johns hopkins children's center. >> after the bone marrow procedure, those families --

have to stay within a 15 minute radius of the hospital. it provides a great sense of normalcy to them. it is a community where they can go out and walk and relax and enjoy the water and all the amenities that the baltimore waterfront offers. >> they help create the design for their building. installation would normally cost $3,500. beshear is the 30th anniversary for believe in tomorrow. they were especially excited to when the building rap contest. -- this year is the 30th anniversary. >> it will provide some visibility to a facility that is not very visible within the community. >> this building wrapped is expected to last up to five years. i believe in tomorrow folks are so excited to the outcome they are looking into getting their other buildings wrapped. >> that is all for us at 5:00. >> here is a look at what is coming of new at 6:00.

>> firefighters battle a fire alarm blaze in fells point. and barry simms would details, coming up. >> preparations are underway for the star spangled sailabration. i am lowell melser and i will have a live report. >> live, local, late-breaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news at 6:00. >> it has been a long, hot afternoon for baltimore firefighters. at this hour, fire crews are still on the scene of a massive fire in downtown baltimore. you are looking at live pictures from skyteam 11, after they responded nearly four hours ago to the spire. the location is a four-story vacant building. when they first arrived, heavy smoke engulfed the area, making it difficult for them to get inside. >> the decision was made to stay out and fight the flames from the outside because of the intense heat and dangerous conditions. barry sim