County Firefighters Battle Three Blazes in 12 Hours, $500K Damage Total

It was a harrowing weekend for Prince George's County firefighters, who battled three major fires over a 12-hour period that caused a whopping total of nearly $500,000 in damages and loss.

According to the fire department, the 12 busy hours took place between Saturday night and Sunday morning.

Laurel Apartment Fire

Just before 8:30 Saturday evening, firefighters from the Laurel area were alerted to an apartment building on fire, located in the 13900 block of Briarwood Lane. When the arrived, firefighters saw that the top floor and roof of the garden-style complex were ablaze. A second alarm was immediately sounded, they explained.

Firefighters immediately began attacking the fire, once they determined the building was empty of any people. As the fire grew in intensity, though, they had to retreat from the building and find safe points to battle the building from outside.

All in all, it took firefighters about 40 minutes to fully extinguish the fire, according to the department's report.

One Laurel firefighter fell from a third-floor balcony and was taken to the hospital. Though he reported pain in his chest area, he was treated overnight and then released, and is now reported to be in good condition.

The cause of the fire is reported to be "improper disposal of smoking materials." The damages of that fire are estimated at $300,000. Nine apartments were declared uninhabitable and 22 occupants were displaced.

With that fire barely extinguished, firefighters were already getting the call about another fire in the Clinton area.

Clinton Warehouse Blaze

That fire took place in a one-story commercial warehouse belonging to an auto repair business, located in the 7600 block of Barbara Lane, beginning around 9 p.m.

Again, the fire was already going strong when firefighters arrived, and a second alarm was sounded. They began fighting the fire from inside, but also had to evacuate and fight from safe outdoor positions when the structure became unstable.

With the structural integrity of the building destroyed, it was difficult for fire investigators to examine the cause, but an employee of the business said it started while work was being done on a car inside the warehouse. The department said it will continue to investigate. Damage is estimated at $100,000.

One firefighter injured his ankle while fighting the fire, but that was the only injury.

Lanham House Fire

The third and final fire of the weekend started just after 8:30 a.m on Sunday. Firefighters from the Lanham area were alerted to a house fire in the 9300 block of Fontana Drive. Firefighters from the Landover Hills Fire/EMS Station were the first to arrive and encountered a one-story garage converted to a living space with fire showing.

The fire was quickly contained. Officials said there were no people inside the garage at the time.

The cause of the Lanham-area fire remains under investigation. A preliminary estimate of the damages are $75,000. No injuries were reported.

»Photos courtesy of the Prince George's County Fire Department