Gaithersburg House Fire On Primrose View Court

At approximately 8:50 p.m. on Monday, March 21, MCFRS units were dispatched for a report of a house on fire at 9400 Primrose View Court in Gaithersburg. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy fire conditions and reported the exterior was 'fully involved' and that the fire had extended into the home's first and second floors. Additional resources were immediately requested.

Firefighters initiated a transitional fire attack by first applying water from the exterior to knock the fire down and then transitioning to an interior attack to bring the fire under control.

Three occupants were home at the time of the fire and were able to escape unharmed. By the time occupants discovered the fire, it had engulfed a portion of the front of the home and rapidly spread when the vinyl siding ignited.

Fire Investigators were called to the scene to conduct an origin and cause investigation. Based on interviews with the occupants of the home, and numerous cigarette butts on the ground in the area the fire began, it was determined that the fire began on the exterior of the home and was accidental in nature caused by improperly discarded smoking material.

Approximately 85 firefighters responded to the scene to fight the fire. A total of five occupants of the home are displaced as a result of the fire. Damages are estimated to be $400,000.00 to the structure and $200,000.00 to the contents of the home.

When smoking outside MCFRS, along with its partners in safety at NFPA and the US Fire Administration, recommend the following:

• Do not discard cigarettes in vegetation such as mulch, potted plants or landscaping, peat moss, dried grass, leaves and other things that could easily ignite.


• Put your cigarette out in an ashtray or bucket with sand. Use ashtrays with a wide base so they won’t tip over and start a fire.

Damascus House Fire

Montgomery County, MD - - -  On Saturday, January 10 at around 4 PM, units from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue as well as Frederick and Carroll County’s were dispatched for a report of fire in the basement at 28408 Kemptown Rd., Damascus.

First arriving units encountered heavy fire in the basement and first floors of a two-story, single-family house. The fire had entered the interior walls and extended upwards creating a stubborn fire behind both vinyl and wood siding. After significant effort, the fire was eventually brought under control and then extinguished.

MCFRS Fire Investigators were requested and the resulting examination revealed that the fire was caused by a propane fueled construction heater. The homeowner, while upstairs, heard a loud noise in the basement and upon entering the basement discovered the fire and attempted to extinguish it. He received minor burns to his face for which he refused any treatment.

The cause of the fire was accidental. Damage is estimated to be $200K to the structure and $100K to the contents. Two adults and one dog were displaced as a result of the fire. Approximately 75 Firefighters from Montgomery, Carroll and Frederick were on scene. One firefighter was transported to a local hospital for an injured leg after slipping on the ice. The home did have a working smoke alarm.

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