BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A dispute over what happens after Baltimore homes catch fire has escalated into a broader fight over the role of an elected official, with restoration contractors accusing City Councilwoman Odette Ramos of interfering with their businesses and Ramos insisting she is protecting residents at a vulnerable moment.
The allegations have spilled from fire scenes into City Hall and the courts. A restoration company owner filed an ethics complaint and sent Ramos a cease-and-desist letter of its own. And a law sponsored by Ramos restricting access to barricaded emergency scenes is being challenged in court.
At the center of the dispute is a question about the role of an elected official at an emergency scene and how far constituent services should extend when private businesses are competing for work.
FILE: Baltimore fire (WBFF)
Multiple contractors told Spotlight on Maryland that Ramos has confronted them at fire scenes, discouraged residents from immediately hiring restoration companies and, according to one contractor, steered homeowners toward other providers.
Ramos strongly denied the allegations at City Hall on Sept. 23 when pressed by Spotlight on Maryland.
There is a lot happening at fires, and it’s really important for people to get all the information that they deserve before making decisions,” Ramos said.
On Sept. 28, five days after being pressed by Spotlight on Maryland, Ramos sponsored a resolution addressing a law enacted nearly one year ago that is at the center of her escalating dispute with fire restoration companies and an ongoing lawsuit against the city.
Contractors Will Karaberis and Borden Chase are among those questioning Ramos’ involvement at fire scenes.
“She would just come out and kind of just intercept a lot,” Chase said. “It was just kind of awkward.”
Karaberis said the encounters with him and his employees occurred repeatedly and frequently in Ramos’ district.
You know, it doesn’t happen in some of these other areas,” Karaberis said. “But in her district, she comes out, you know, on a majority of all of them.”
Karaberis went further, telling Spotlight on Maryland that his clients have alleged that Ramos referred residents to certain people.
A fire restoration sign at a home in Baltimore undergoing post-fire renovation. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
Ramos denies those allegations.
“There was an ethics complaint, but that is not valid,” Ramos said. “I’m not referring people to other companies, residents to other companies.”
An ethics complaint filed against Ramos alleges she improperly used her office. The owner of the restoration company who filed the complaint also sent Ramos a cease-and-desist letter.
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The city later sent Karaberis’s attorney a cease-and-desist letter of its own about his client.
The city’s ethics board has decided not to move forward with the complaint.
One Baltimore homeowner told Spotlight on Maryland that she was also troubled by her interaction with Ramos after a fire at her home.
The woman, who works in the insurance industry, asked not to be identified because she fears retaliation. She recalled trying to secure her property when Ramos asked whether the house had been damaged.
She said, ‘No, there’s no damage. There’s no damage,’” the homeowner said. “And I’m like, ‘No, my partner just took a photo. Here’s the photo.’”
The homeowner said the interaction immediately made her uncomfortable.
“Everything I was saying, she was being really defensive,” she said. “From the moment the first words came out of her, I just didn’t trust her.”
Baltimore Councilwoman Odette Ramos speaks to Spotlight on Maryland on Wednesday, September 23, 2026 at City Hall. (David Linthicum/Spotlight on Maryland)
Spotlight on Maryland asked Ramos about the allegation that she pressured a resident not to use a company.
“I don’t think that’s the case,” Ramos said. “I don’t pressure people. What I tell people when I get to a fire is, ‘Call your insurance company first.’”
The broader dispute intensified after Baltimore enacted legislation sponsored by Ramos that governs who may enter an active emergency scene.
City records show that Ordinance 25-046 was signed into law on Oct. 23, 2025. The law gives the fire chief or a designee authority over the emergency perimeter and allows certain authorized people, including victims, relatives, city personnel and city officials to enter.
Violations can result in up to a $500 fine, 60 days in jail or both.
William Karaberis and Baltimore City government have exchanged cease and desist letters in September 2026 over fire scene occupancy. (Graphic: Zackary Lang)
Ramos wrote during the legislative process that the measure “is not targeted toward one industry or individual.” City Council hearing records show that she characterized the restriction as a safety measure intended to keep restoration companies and others out of the middle of an active emergency scene until the scene is deemed safe.
Karaberis disagrees and says that roughly seven restoration and public-adjusting companies are challenging the law.
They feel that the yellow tape law is put there to stop companies from being able to solicit and help homeowners at the time of need,” Karaberis said. “Basically, it violates our commercial free speech.”
The City Council revisited the controversy Monday.
On Sept. 28, lawmakers adopted a resolution, sponsored by Ramos and two colleagues, formally declaring that the ordinance’s purpose is to protect the “health, safety and welfare” of residents and first responders.
This resolution came after Spotlight on Maryland pressed Ramos for answers outside City Council chambers days earlier.
Retired Baltimore City fire Capt. William Raab, who served 35 years with the department, said he remembered seeing Ramos alongside residents at a Keswick Road fire.
Raab said he later saw Ramos take a board-up contractor into a house. He acknowledged he does not know what was discussed inside.
The retired fire captain said firefighters themselves are prohibited from showing favoritism.
“We’re not allowed to refer companies to anybody,” Raab said. “I can’t give a reference to anybody or show favoritism to anybody, and they should be held to that same standard.”
William Karaberis, owner of Karaberis Restoration, said Baltimore Councilwoman Odette Ramos has been interfering with his business. (Zackary Lang/Spotlight on Maryland)
Spotlight on Maryland asked Ramos whether she had any interest in redirecting business from one company to another.
No,” Ramos said. “I’m not referring anybody to anything other than the services that the city provides. The city provides. Not any private companies or anything like that.”
The contractors say they are trying to help homeowners navigate what happens after firefighters depart.
Ramos maintains that she is trying to ensure residents have the information they need before making potentially expensive decisions.
“What we try to do on a scene is make sure that everybody’s safe and everyone has the information to make decisions,” Ramos said.
Send news tips about this story or others to gmcollins@sbgtv.com or contact Spotlight on Maryland’s hotline at (410) 467-4670.
Follow Gary Collins on X and Instagram. Spotlight on Maryland is a collaboration between FOX45 News, WJLA in Washington, D.C., and The Baltimore Sun.
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