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A Potomac house fire on Monday was allegedly intentionally started by a woman who lives there, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue assistant chief Scott Graham.
Firefighters responded to the 10800 block of Old Coach Road shortly after 6 a.m. Monday and found fires in multiple locations around the home. Investigators suspect the fires were intentionally set by the elderly female resident, Graham said. Property tax records identify the homeowner as Francis Zugel, and neighbors confirmed his wife's first name is Rosemary. She and her 80-year-old husband escaped and called responders from a neighbor's home, Graham said.
Rosemary Zugel allegedly wrote messages on the walls of the home during the incident, though Graham didn't know what the messages said.
"She rang my doorbell at 6 a.m. and said her house was on fire," said neighbor Marjorie Lynch. Lynch said that she and her husband had been friendly with the couple, who live across the street, since moving into the neighborhood in 1966.
Lynch said she didn't suspect Rosemary Zugel had started the blaze herself. Zugel and her husband were both alert, Lynch said. However, Francis Zugel stayed in the front yard of his home and didn't come inside, Lynch said.
It took firefighters about a half hour to contain the blaze, according to Graham. Monday, there appeared to be damage to the home's garage and upstairs windows.
The Fire and Rescue Service's fire and explosive investigation section are handling the investigation, Graham said. Charges in the case are pending, he said.
