Firefighter injured, dog dies in Silver Spring apartment fire

Firefighters responded to an apartment building in Silver Spring on Wednesday. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
A Silver Spring apartment building was engulfed in flames on Wednesday. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
Firefighters responded to an apartment building in Silver Spring on Wednesday. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)
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A Silver Spring apartment building was engulfed in flames on Wednesday. (Courtesy Montgomery County Fire and Rescue)

An apartment fire in Silver Spring, Maryland, displaced several families, injured a firefighter and left a dog dead, according to Montgomery County fire spokesman Pete Piringer.

Units from Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and D.C. Fire and Rescue responded around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to a 2-alarm fire at the Blair Park Garden Apartments in the 7700 block of Eastern Avenue in Silver Spring.

Piringer said more than 85 firefighters across multiple agencies worked to put out a large blaze that had fully engulfed a second-floor apartment unit.

One firefighter was injured and one dog died in the fire.

The failure of a power strip with multiple items plugged into it near a bed is the likely cause of the fire, Piringer said.

The building sustained about $700,000 in damage.

Montgomery County fire officials will be returning to the building Thursday afternoon to provide a safety check, including investigating whether smoke alarms are working properly.

Below is a map of the area:

Valerie Bonk

Valerie Bonk started working at WTOP in 2016 and has lived in Howard County, Maryland, her entire life. She's thrilled to be a reporter for WTOP telling stories on air. She works as both a television and radio reporter in the Maryland and D.C. areas. 

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