A home in Montgomery Village, Maryland, caught fire in the early hours of Easter Sunday, sending four people, including a firefighter, to the hospital. One female victim is in critical condition.
Officials say the fire occurred around 1 a.m. in the 9600 block of Whetstone Drive near Centerway Park.
Montgomery County Fire and EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer said roughly 75 firefighters responded to the early morning blaze, which he said was likely accidental and electrical in nature. Piringer said the fire may have started in the screened-in porch area at the back of the house.
Piringer said the fire was extinguished and the scene cleared by 5:30 a.m., Sunday morning.
Three people from the residence were taken to the hospital with injuries. Two of them were later released, while a third female victim, who had been rescued and resuscitated by firefighters on site, is still in critical condition, according to Piringer.
One county firefighter was also sent to the hospital for treatment, but has since been released.
Three family dogs died because of the fire, and a family from the residence was displaced, according to Piringer, who estimates property damage at around $750,000.
Piringer said fire alarms inside the home had been working, and at least two of the people inside the residence heard them in time to escape.
Officials said they would go door-to-door in the neighborhood on Sunday to speak with neighbors who might have information about the fire.
WTOP’s Jessica Kronzer and Joshua Barlow contributed to this report.
