WASHINGTON — A weekend fire that displaced more than 1,100 Bethesda residents could keep them from going home for the rest of the week.
It could be five to seven days before residents of the Promenade north tower can get back into their apartments on Bethesda’s Pooks Hill Road, according to the latest briefing from the management and county officials.
The electrical fire, which started in the utility room Saturday morning, pushed smoke into nearly all of the tower’s 500 units rendering the building with limited power and unsafe to occupy, said Pete Piringer with Montgomery County fire and rescue service.
Eighteen people were taken to hospitals for treatment of smoke-related injuries as a result of the fire Saturday, along with one firefighter who suffered heat exhaustion. Eleven people were taken to the hospital for pre-existing medical conditions
The building management brought in a generator Sunday, which is giving emergency services and county-permitting assessors the ability to use the elevator and access the affected areas; however many of the tower’s smoke alarms need replacing, Piringer said. It will be up to the Promenade management company and the county’s Department of Permitting Services to determine when it is safe for residents to return to their homes.
In an Oct. 22 memo to residents, management provided an update indicating that it plans to remove and replace the burned equipment in the utility room Monday.
“Unfortunately, removing all of the burned equipment and installing all of the new equipment is expected to take approximately another week. This is a highly accelerated schedule which involves virtually around-the-clock effort until completed,” states the memo.
Pepco is installing new transformers in the building and a temporary switchboard is also being installed to provide power to the boiler and mechanical systems, management writes.
The memo states that management aims to have power “restored, tested and available to the north building” around Oct. 30.
Meanwhile, residents have been able to access shelter, meals and resources through the American Red Cross. The disaster relief team set up a shelter at the Gwendolyn Coffield Community Center on Lyttonsville Road in Silver Spring.
Over the weekend, volunteers opened 100 disaster cases, offered 60 people medical treatment and provided shelter in Silver Spring to more than a dozen residents each night, said Rebekah Jastremski with the American Red Cross. She said 16 residents stayed overnight Saturday and 13 stayed the following night.
Between 1,100 and 1,500 residents were displaced by the fire Saturday morning.
Residents who are not staying at the shelter can stop by for updated information, meals or any resources they may need, Jastremski said, including if they need a place to stay.
In the Promenade’s south tower, residents have access to their apartments but do not have hot water. Restoring it is a priority, building management writes in a memo to residents, because “without those services for an extended period of time, the South building could become uninhabitable by County code standards.”
