Eight of the people taken to hospitals — four children and four adults — suffered moderate injuries, officials said. Two other people were hurt but were not transported to hospitals, officials said.
By 10 a.m., Piringer said in a video on Twitter from the scene the fire was knocked down and a preliminary search was being done of the three-story building where the incident happened. Crews were working to put out hot spots, authorities said.
Photos Piringer posted showed firefighters dousing a large section of a brick apartment building that had collapsed.
Dan Ogren, assistant chief of the EMS department at Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said the building was “fully involved” in the blaze when firefighters arrived from a nearby county fire station that is only three minutes away. He said firefighters rescued two people from balconies.
“It sounds like a gas explosion but obviously it’s way too early to tell that right now,” Ogren said, adding that no one was reported missing.
Silver Spring apartment blast ruled accidental; gas pipe cut by mistake, officials say
When fire officials arrived at the scene and started talking to residents, some said they had smelled gas in the morning, but authorities said they’d received no 911 calls reporting a smell of gas before the initial call for the fire and possible explosion. Nine units collapsed or were damaged by the incident, and fire officials said they still needed to get in and do another search of the units.
“As of now we still don’t know of anyone missing,” said Montgomery Fire and Rescue Service Chief Scott Goldstein, adding that they were “still sorting out” a list of residents. “This is going to be a multiday event.”
Goldstein said an initial search had found evidence of a “gas-fed fire in the basement” and crews from Washington Gas were working to shut off the gas to the buildings so firefighters could go inside the nine damaged units.
The incident remains under investigation.
The fire occurred near Brown Station Elementary School in Gaithersburg, and a Montgomery County school spokesman said the school went into shelter-in-place status. That requires all students and staff to be brought inside the building, though classroom instruction can continue.
The school system later announced that Brown Station Elementary students would be dismissed early, beginning at 12:30 p.m., due to the fire, and afternoon programs were canceled. The school noted that parents were asked to bring their ID to pick up their student at the Robertson Youth Center in Gaithersburg.
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