A pre-dawn fire on September 18, 2015, tore through a three-story apartment building on the 5200 block of Frankford Avenue in Northeast Baltimore, killing 62-year-old Diane Griffin. Residents woke to smoke and heat as flames moved through upper floors; firefighters made multiple rescues and later found Griffin dead inside one of the apartments. Survivors suffered injuries from cuts and bruises to broken bones, and at least one person was hospitalized, while several families were displaced.

Baltimore police treated the blaze as an intentionally set fire and opened an arson-homicide probe. Investigators said evidence at the scene was consistent with arson and that materials left behind showed significant preparation, but they did not publicly identify a motive or say whether Griffin was the intended target. Early neighborhood accounts mentioned heated arguments involving a man before the fire, but no individual was publicly tied to the arson and no arrest was announced. Any readers with information about who set the fire or why are asked to come forward.