Early Monday morning, a devastating fire reduced a Montgomery County home to ashes, displacing a family of six along with their pets, as confirmed by fire officials. According to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer, speaking with
WTOP
, the blaze that started on the home’s deck was likely exacerbated by the wind, leading to the rapid spread and total loss of the property, including several vehicles.
The family, which included three adults and three children, managed to escape unharmed with their pets but stood to watch their 10,000-square-foot farm-style home engulfed in flames around 2:30 a.m. A neighbor recounted that they got out “in the nick of time”, wearing nothing but the clothes on their back, a remark conveyed by Piringer to
WTOP
. The area’s lack of fire hydrants presented a challenge, requiring firefighters to shuttle in substantial quantities of water with damage estimates reported between four and five million dollars by Piringer in an update to
FOX 5.
“We call them what we call a water supply task force, which eventually would be six water tankers,” Piringer articulated to
NBC Washington
, emphasizing the logistical efforts during the firefight. Each tanker truck can haul around 3,000 gallons, and overall the fire consumed 60 to 70 thousand gallons to extinguish, resulting in partial collapse of the structure.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is still pending. The initial ruling out of the flames by authorities is that the incident was accidental although due to the extensive damage. It could be some time before a definitive cause is established as after hours of battling.
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