At least 30 people were displaced after a fire broke out on the third floor of a Gaithersburg apartment building Friday afternoon.
More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze that started at about 1:30 p.m., and many helped rescue “several” residents and pets from the top floor of the Saybrooke Apartments, county Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Pete Piringer said.
Four occupants were transported to local hospitals, three for smoke inhalation and one with non-life threatening injuries, Piringer said. There were no firefighter injuries reported.
A person driving on a nearby road saw smoke and called 911 to report the fire, Piringer said, and several other emergency calls were received from occupants shortly after.
2 alarm fire on sunny brook terrace. Dozens of units responding. Woodfield and Emory grove are shut down pic.twitter.com/S5ln33ZfpJ
— GWGVFD (@GWGVFD) March 8, 2019
Upon arrival, first responders encountered visible smoke and flames showing from the exterior of the building. The fire was contained by about 2:15 p.m.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and a damage estimate was not immediately available, but Piringer said the apartments, on Sunny Brook Terrace, sustained “pretty significant loss.”
The American Red Cross was called to assist in relocating families and the Gaithersburg fire marshal was on scene Friday afternoon assisting with the investigation.
Due to road closures and fire department activity around the site at the end of the school day, busses transporting students from Flower Hill Elementary School about a mile away were delayed and some were not able to transport students.
Parents were required to pick up students from the school if they live on Emory Grove Road, according to a Tweet from the school.
Built in 1990, Saybrooke has 252 apartment units with one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans.
Update – Saybrooke Apartment Homes, IAO Woodfield Rd & E more Grove Rd, ~100 FFs on scene pic.twitter.com/qrXPDhPRVS
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) March 8, 2019
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
