Montgomery County Fire & Rescue units from the 1st, 3rd and 4th Battalions engaged in an intense firefight and performed a rescue on Iris Street in the Aspen Hill section of the county early Thursday morning. First arriving units encountered heavy fire and smoke conditions in a two-story house. Firefighters located a victim on the 2nd level and performed a rescue operation using ground ladders. The victim was removed and rushed to the MedStar Washington Hospital Burn Center with multiple injuries. Conditions in the house deteriorated to the point of command ordering evacuations from the structure.
According to reports the house had no smoke detectors. Two firefighters were injured during the rescue operations. Sadly, the 82-year-old victim succumbed to her injuries. Cause of the fire remains under investigation but is believed to be arson.
More about the operations and fire can be found in the following reports:
http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/09/woman-injured-in-rockville-maryland-house-fire-106751.html
http://www.mymcpnews.com/2014/09/04/57-year-old-son-charged-with-first-degree-murder-of-mother/
Photos from photojournalist and MCFRS photographer Beverly Jensen, and myself follow. I arrived later in the morning hours and captured some images of the apparatus on scene and the overhaul operations. Beverly arrived with the first-due units and captured some stunning photos of the firefight and rescue.
Many thanks to Beverly Jensen and to MCFRS Chief Public Information Officer Pete Piringer (https://twitter.com/mcfrsPIO) for sharing reports and photos from the fireground.
Trevor James
Photo by Beverly Jensen
Photo by Beverly Jensen
Photo by Beverly Jensen
Photo by Beverly Jensen
Photo by Beverly Jensen
Photo by Trevor James
Photo by Trevor James
Photo by Trevor James
Photo by Trevor James
Photo by Trevor James