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Residents of Fairland Garden Apartments were uncertain about their future Thursday after a fire morning displaced occupants in 16 residences.
The fire began about 7:40 a.m. in a bedroom of a second-story unit of the four-level garden-style apartment building at 12313 Treetop Drive near U.S. Route 29 in Fairland. About 65 to 75 firefighters from Montgomery and Prince George's counties quickly extinguished the blaze, said Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer.
"[Firefighters] found heavy smoke conditions…and a significant fire," said Piringer, who said the fire damaged eight apartments and caused $500,000 damage. It could have been an electrical fire, he said.
The fire created a hole in the second-story bedroom and spread to nearby apartments. Two people received non-life threatening injuries.
Piringer said one man rescued by a ladder is in good condition after being treated for smoke inhalation at an area hospital; a firefighter injured his knee in a fall, Piringer said.
Between 11 a.m. and noon, fire trucks were leaving the scene while residents remained outside, wondering what happened to the apartment and their belongings.
Yun Suk Choi, a freshman at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, missed his sociology class as he waited to learn more about what happened. His apartment is next to where the fire started. The blaze began around the time he woke up.
"As soon as I opened the door, there was big smoke," said Choi, 19. "We're still waiting to get our stuff."
The American Red Cross was at the scene, waiting for more information on how severe the damage was. Jenny Kurtinitis, a Red Cross worker, said residents will be sent to area recreation centers or hotels once it's determined if they can return to their apartments.
Jose Flores, who lives below the unit where the fire started, said he immediately knew the evacuation wasn't a fire drill. There were "people screaming," he said.
"You could tell [it was] for real," Flores said. "I saw the smoke."
Flores and his family waited outside their apartment, not knowing the condition of their apartment. But they were thankful they were not harmed in the fire.
Flores' daughter, 18-year-old Maria Flores, said the fire would be "something to tell my grandchildren." She expressed relief she was OK but said she wants to know what happened to her iPod music player. "I should have got it," she said.
Messages to Equity Residential, the Chicago-based company that operates the apartments, were not returned Thursday afternoon.
