Fire marshal investigating possible arson at state psychiatric hospital

Officials say they are investigating a possible arson after two vacant buildings at a state-owned psychiatric hospital in Southern Carroll County caught fire Saturday morning.

According to a social media post from the Maryland State Fire Marshal, emergency personnel from the Sykesville Freedom District Fire Department and other departments responded to Springfield Hospital Center shortly before 8 a.m. They found two buildings — both vacant — ablaze.

As of early afternoon, there were no emergency personnel at the campus, though the faint smell of smoke remained. The fires took place in the Martin Gross complex, a series of old, vacant buildings that sit atop a hill behind “no trespassing” signs.

The main building damaged by the fire appeared to have been empty for years, with vines and weeds growing along its walls, a collapsed roof and broken windows.

Downhill and along the street sat several residential buildings that are part of the psychiatric hospital complex. Those colonial-style brick buildings were not affected by the fire.

Drivers passing by occasionally slowed down to rubberneck. A few pulled up to the Martin Gross complex to get a better look before a security guard directed them away.

According to a history published by the Maryland Department of Health, Springfield Hospital Center opened in 1896 and included numerous buildings on a bucolic campus that was once a farm.

By 1950, the site housed more than 3,000 people with mental illness. The inhumane conditions there sparked a public backlash, leading to reform.

Over time, the number of patients at the center dwindled as the field of psychiatry moved away from institutionalizing people and adopted community-based care and outpatient services.

A team of deputy fire marshals is investigating the blazes as a possible arson and encouraging anyone with information to call 410-386-3050.

This story has been updated.