A house in the 9400 block of Jongroner Court in Potomac was destroyed by fire on March 10.
“It was a pretty stubborn fire,” said Fire Department Spokesman Pete Piringer.
The department estimates the fire caused more than $450,000 in structural damage and $100,000 in damage to the contents of the house. According to Piringer, the fire is believed to be accidentally caused by electrical problems in the attached garage, but the investigation is continuing.
Piringer stated that it took approximately 30 minutes to “knock down the bulk of the fire,” and an additional hour to put it out. “Firefighters were on the scene for several hours,” Piringer said.
The department received calls at about 3 p.m. said Piringer. “We had over 55 firefighters on the scene,” Piringer said.
Initially Rockville area units responded to the fire. They were joined by firefighters from both Cabin John stations and stations in Bethesda and Kensington.
According to Cabin John spokesman Eugene Roesser, the fire went to a second alarm. “It doesn’t happen all that often, but it’s not unusual,” Roesser said. He explained that, typically, the second alarm is not sounded to get more apparatus on the scene.
“It’s mainly because you need more personnel,” Roesser said. He said that the additional personnel are necessary to give a break to the first firefighters on the scene.
The ladder truck from Station 10 on River Road was among the units which responded. The Fire Department had proposed de-staffing the truck as part of a round of budget cuts in January, but that proposal was rejected. “We were utilizing personnel and equipment from the ladder truck,” Roesser said.
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