WASHINGTON — Montgomery County firefighters battled a string of fires Saturday, amid cold temperatures and snow accumulation.
Update — Video from Outpost Lane, 2- story SFD w/ initial fire on 1st floor w/ Extension into 2nd floor & attic. Fire out, investigation on going. pic.twitter.com/YSsUT7Sxep
— Daniel Ogren (@mcfrsPIO4) December 30, 2017
Update - Larkmeade Lane, ‘heavy water’ & master stream application making a difference, a lot of fire knocked down, no injuries, this will be a protracted incident, >75 FFs on scene pic.twitter.com/QU0GoUyywz
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) December 31, 2017
Early in the day, some 60 residents were displaced when a condominium complex on Quince Orchard Boulevard in Gaithersburg caught fire. No one was injured and a shelter was set up at a school across the street. As people huddled outside, temperatures during the early morning dipped in the teens and snow accumulated in some parts of the area.
But firefighters were called throughout the day to put out fires in individual homes.
- At around 3:30 p.m., some 75 firefighters responded to a fire in a two-story house in the 10800 block of Outpost Drive in North Potomac. The fire was initially on the first floor and extended to the second floor and the attic. The cause of the fire was fireplace ashes placed in a plastic bag inside the house next to the hearth. Damage to the house is estimated at $250,000. Two adults and two children were evacuated.
- Before 5 p.m., firefighters responded to an electrical fire in the basement of a three-story building in the 8900 block of Centerway Road in Gaithersburg. Two adults are displaced, and the damage is estimated at $50,000.
- At around 6:40 p.m., firefighters responded to a small electrical fire in the living room of a two-story house in the 18500 block of Kingshill Road in Germantown.
- At around 6:45 p.m. at Earlsgate Lane off Tuckerman Lane in Rockville, firefighters arrived to smoke coming out of a garage of a house. The fire’s origin was located in the basement in the area of a gas-fed furnace. Seventy-five firefighters were on the scene, with one transported to the hospital with minor injuries. Two adults are displaced, and the damage is estimated at $300,000.
- And, in the 10900 block of Larkmeade Lane in Potomac, more than 75 firefighters fought heavy fire that ravaged a house in the affluent area. They established a collapse zone on the street, as some walls collapsed. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue said two adults are displaced, and the damage is estimated at $900,000.
But they also responded to reports of fires that were not emergencies.
At 4 p.m., they responded to a call in the 2800 block of Abbey Manor Circle that turned out to be smoke coming out of a fire pit. Around 5 p.m., they responded to a possible barn fire in a non-hydrant area in the 18600 block of Darnestown Road near Jerusalem Road. The fire turned out to be a controlled burn behind a barn and no structure was on fire.
The cold temperatures and ice added to the challenges faced by those displaced in the fires and the firefighters who answered many calls Saturday.
The D.C. area experienced some light now early Saturday, making road conditions slippery. Montgomery County issued a hypothermia alert Saturday, which extended into Sunday. Temperatures for Sunday is expected to be in the low to mid 20s.
Below is the location of some of the fires Montgomery County firefighters fought on Saturday.
