City officials identified the Baltimore firefighter who lost his life Thursday while battling a fire that ripped through a group of rowhouses in Northwest Baltimore, the latest blow to a department that is still reeling from the death of three others last year.

Fire officials on Friday said Rodney Pitts III, 31, of Baltimore, died from his injuries after he and other firefighters entered a burning rowhouse around 3:45 p.m. at the 5200 block of Linden Heights Avenue. Four firefighters were hospitalized with burn wounds Thursday, and two have since been released.

Pitts had been in active service as a firefighter and EMT since August after joining the department last year. He was stationed in Park Heights on Engine 29.

“I pinned his badge on him in August,” said Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace.

A person who answered the door at a house listed for Pitts declined to comment Friday.

A Baltimore native, Pitts was eager to serve his hometown, something his family reflected during a visit with Mayor Brandon Scott Thursday evening.

”That’s what I think we should be talking about. Someone who loved this place so much that they would be willing to risk their life, and, in his case, tragically give his life for this city,” Scott said.

Lt. Dillon Rinaldo, a six-year veteran, remains in critical but stable condition Friday. Firefighter Seth Robbins, a 17-year veteran, is also hospitalized. Keith Brooks II, a 14-year veteran, and firefighter Tavon Marshall, a 3-year veteran, were treated and released.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is leading the investigation into the cause of the fire.

Baltimore Police’s arson and homicide units are investigating, and one person was taken into custody after the fire. That person, upon being interviewed, has since been released and police are asking anyone with information about the fire to call detectives. The ATF is leading the investigation, but no city leader would say whether arson is suspected.

Pitts’ death comes less than two years after three firefighters were killed and a fourth seriously injured in a vacant rowhouse fire on South Stricker Street in New Southwest/Mount Clare, a neighborhood in Central Southwest Baltimore. That fire was one of the deadliest for fire responders in the city’s history.

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