WASHINGTON — Dozens of people were evacuated from their homes during a fire in a Montgomery County apartment building late Friday, triggered by a malfunctioning microwave.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said a fire started around 10 p.m. in a three-story building on the 700 block of Northampton Drive, just off New Hampshire Avenue, in Silver Spring, Maryland.
The blaze, which spread out from a kitchen on the building’s second floor, ultimately caused an estimated $85,000 in damage and displaced 26 people — over half of them, children — across 6 apartment units. The blame, Piringer tweeted on Saturday morning, was pinned on a faulty microwave.
There were no reported injuries.
Update (10p 11/16) 714 Northampton Dr, Northwest Park; 3-sty apt; Cause, cooking (malfunctioning microwave); Area of Origin, kitchen (2nd Fl); Damage, $85K, incl $70K structure, $15K contents; Displaced (6 apts) 12 adults, 14 children; no injuries pic.twitter.com/0cqUO00yZO
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) November 17, 2018
