For better or worse: Couple wed in Montgomery Co. hours after fire damages house

A fire in Potomac, Maryland, nearly deters a scheduled wedding on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A fire in Potomac, Maryland, nearly deters a scheduled wedding on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Firefighters battle a blaze in North Potomac, Maryland, on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Firefighters battle a blaze in North Potomac, Maryland, on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A wedding scheduled for Sunday is nearly prevented when a fire broke out in a house in Montgomery County on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A wedding scheduled for Sunday is nearly prevented when a fire broke out in a house in Montgomery County on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman says 15 people who were together in the house for the wedding got out safely and went to another family home. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman says 15 people who were together in the house for the wedding got out safely and went to another family home. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A fire breaks out in a North Potomac, Maryland, home on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A fire breaks out in a North Potomac, Maryland, home on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
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A fire in Potomac, Maryland, nearly deters a scheduled wedding on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Firefighters battle a blaze in North Potomac, Maryland, on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A wedding scheduled for Sunday is nearly prevented when a fire broke out in a house in Montgomery County on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman says 15 people who were together in the house for the wedding got out safely and went to another family home. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A fire breaks out in a North Potomac, Maryland, home on Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)

WASHINGTON — Authorities say more than a dozen people who gathered for a wedding escaped from a fire that destroyed part of a Montgomery County home.

It happened on Keeneland Circle in North Potomac, Maryland.

Pete Piringer with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service said the fire started around 2:30 a.m. Sunday and was centered around a recycling bin near the garage. The cause of the fire is not yet known but authorities believe it is likely discarded smoking materials.

Damage is estimated at $450,000.

Piringer said 15 people who were together in the house for the wedding got out safely and went to another family home.

Piringer says the wedding was scheduled for later that day and many items for it were inside the home.

Bride Coral Ben-Atar told NBC Washington that she and her parents, who own the home, decided to go ahead with the wedding. The bride’s dress was not in the house but in a truck outside the home, and firefighters saved the groom’s suit.

The owners of the house will likely have to stay at a hotel for months, while the house is repaired, NBC Washington reported.

Below is the area where it happened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

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