By Luke Parker
Baltimore Sun
BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — After a Baltimore County paramedic was accused of masturbating and urinating on his colleague’s property and food, cleaning services and new equipment could cost taxpayers upward of $260,000, according to emailed estimates reviewed by The Baltimore Sun.
Accusations that paramedic Christopher M. Carroll, 36, filmed pornography at county fire stations have spurred a criminal investigation against him and a protective order within his family — restrictions Carroll is now challenging in court.
| EARLIER: Md. paramedic in firehouse contamination claims videos were ‘artistic’ expression
Carroll’s attorney, Shannon Kowitz, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday. Neither did a spokesperson for the county fire department.
Fear of unknowingly ingesting semen and urine has caused confusion for many of the area’s first responders, some of whom have already sought legal counsel. In a staff-wide email early last month, Baltimore County Fire Chief Joseph Dixon told his workers that although “the science indicates very little risk” medically, their peace of mind was more important, ordering hazmat cleaning in all 25 of the department’s career stations.
Through a Maryland Public Information Act request, The Sun reviewed dozens of emails between county officials and local contractors who performed the work in December: deep-cleans of facilities and the replacement of more than two dozen ice machines. Together, the volleyed quotes and estimates totaled approximately $263,400.
When asked about the costs, Dakarai Turner, a spokesperson for Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, said in a statement that every employee deserves a safe and healthy workspace, especially first responders.
“This is why — amid an active investigation — Baltimore County took swift action to ensure our fire stations were thoroughly cleaned and safe for those who work and serve there,” Turner said. “The well-being of Baltimore County employees is always a top priority, and we will take every step necessary to protect their health, safety, and dignity.”
As of Wednesday evening, Carroll has not been named by public safety officials as the employee under investigation, though he’s defended the videos as “parody” and “satire” in court.
More than a month after the first allegations were made, their scale is still unclear.
In early December, The Sun reviewed several videos posted on and then deleted from pornographic websites dating back to September 2024. They suggested sex acts took place “at work,” in his coworkers’ drinks and salad dressing, according to the captions. Others appeared to take place at Carroll’s home, allegedly in his family’s food and hygiene products — Carroll told a judge in Harford County, where he lives, that everything with which he made a video was his.
Even so, Dixon’s orders affected the entire department.
On Dec. 2 , a day before the chief’s staffwide email, the county sought a proposal from a Cockeysville -based contractor on biohazard cleanup services for several surfaces, including door handles, kitchens, bathrooms, bunk rooms and lockers. The property management worker who made the inquiry said, “This is a very high priority for our leadership.”
The company agreed to “fast-track the process,” and emails show that cleaning began Dec. 4 at the fire stations in Pikesville and Perry Hall, as well as the fire department’s sections of the county Public Safety Building in Towson.
The emails don’t explain how Baltimore County determined which stations would be serviced first, but over the next couple of weeks, the contractor worked on tackling two sites per day. Using the quoted price for the Towson fire station, the largest in the department, county officials estimated cleaning at each location would cost $3,400, totaling about $88,400.
At the same time, members of the county fire and property management departments had another contractor acquire and install 25 ice machines across their facilities. Each job was quoted as costing $7,000 from start to finish, totaling $175,000.
Other changes ordered by the department as a result of the allegations, such as new water coolers, were not included in Tuesday’s public information release. The emails also reference jobs in at least one station not being done properly and the offer of third-party assessments to make sure that wouldn’t happen again. It’s unclear whether the county approved those, which would have cost about $12,000.
Medically speaking, these precautions appear to be what the chief designed them to be: a way to comfort his staff.
Dr. Eric Wargotz, president of the Maryland State Medical Society and clinical professor emeritus of pathology at the George Washington University School of Medicine, told The Sun last month that based on what’s publicly known so far, the risk of disease seems low.
Although semen and urine carry bacteria, Wargotz said most are nonpathogenic, meaning they cannot cause harm to a host under normal circumstances.
In addition to the cleaning and maintenance in facilities, the county offered its employees free medical testing. A workplace safety guide it shared also says pathogens for HIV and hepatitis B and C break down quickly outside the body, making them low-risk for contact.
Wargotz said the most significant fallout for Baltimore County Fire employees would likely be psychological.
“It’s huge,” he said. “It’s probably the biggest issue that needs to be addressed.”
©2026 Baltimore Sun.
Visit baltimoresun.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
