Fire at Sandy Spring Friends School injures one man

A fire broke out around 2:40 a.m. on the campus, located at 16923 Norwood Road, Pete Piringer, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, said.

A shed next to a residential apartment caught fire, he said. On Wednesday evening, fire officials still did not know what caused the fire.

Although the school is on spring break this week, a man, who school officials said is a dorm counselor and maintenance employee, was sleeping in a residential apartment near the shed. When he was awakened by a fire alarm, he went outside to investigate and burned his feet, Piringer and school officials said. He was not wearing shoes.

The roof of the shed was on fire. Some 40 firefighters brought the blaze under control in about 10 minutes, Piringer said.

The man was taken to the MedStar Burn Unit at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., Piringer said. The man’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, he said.

Damage is estimated at $10,000, Piringer said.