(Update 4:55 p.m.) A heavy fire in a garage bay area of the Washington Gas facility in North Bethesda caused a partial building collapse and a large MCFRS response Wednesday morning.
MCFRS was called to the scene, at 11801 Nebel St., around 6 a.m. and a second alarm was dispatched at 6:17 a.m. At the height of the firefighting operations, there were more than 75 firefighters on scene, according to MCFRS.
At 8 a.m., MCFRS said the fire was out:
Update: 11801 Nebel St. Fire reported out @ fleet dispatch facility for Wash. Gas. No reported injuries. Investigators OTS. More when avail
– MontgomeryCo(MD)Fire (@mcfrs) February 12, 2014
Firefighters had to use ladders to get above the large blaze. Two heavy walls fell as a result of the fire, according to scanner traffic.
The fire is believed to be accidental. MCFRS said it started with an auto fire in a four-bay garage at the facility, then spread to a tire storage area of the repair shop.
MCFRS put the damage at $500,000 to the contents of the garage and $500,000 to the garage structure.