Updated at 5:30 p.m. Monday: Montgomery County Police released an update on Monday regarding the house fire that left two people dead on Wednesday, determining the cause of death to be smoke inhalation and thermal burns. No foul play is suspected.
The victims were identified as John Ashton Randolph, 61, and Inga Randolph, 94, both residents of the home.
At approximately 1 a.m. on Nov. 21, a fire broke out at a home on the 4900 block of Western Avenue in Bethesda, along the Maryland-Washington, D.C., border. A neighbor reported the fire and when authorities arrived, the house was “fully involved,” according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Chief Scott Goldstein.
Crews entered the home and extinguished the fire shortly after arriving, and upon a search of the home found two bodies, Goldstein said. Crews remained on scene early Wednesday morning to monitor hot spots.
Fire trucks and police vehicles lined Western Avenue throughout the morning on Wednesday while MCFRS personnel worked to clear the ash and debris from the residence. The rear of the home remained mostly intact while the front facade was completely charred.
Authorities report the fatalities were the first and second residential fire deaths of the year in Montgomery County. The bodies of the victims were transported to the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore, Goldstein said.
“We are now beginning the process of identifying, documenting and investigating the origin of this fire,” Goldstein said. Possible causes under consideration are the use of a space heater or other alternative heating sources, he said.
A preliminary investigation revealed “there were likely no working smoke alarms,” MCFRS spokeman Pete Piringer tweeted before 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Western Avenue remained closed Wednesday morning between River Road and Westmoreland Circle due to fire department activity.
Eddie Reid, who lives across the street, said the smell of smoke woke him rather than the sound of fire trucks arriving to fight the blaze. He initially believed the fire was at his own residence.
“I saw the orange glow, saw the smoke,” Reid said. “I thought it was my house.”
Another neighbor who lived adjacent to the property and who asked to remain anonymous said she has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years and knew the victims had lived there longer. She saw flames shooting out of the upstairs window of the burning house during the night and quickly went outside to make sure the fire hadn’t spread to adjacent properties.
