A massive fire tore through a home in a Montgomery County neighborhood early Sunday morning.
Firefighters believe the flames spread quickly, engulfing the home on Philip Oaks Drive in Spencerville, Maryland at around 12:40 a.m.
They also believe a heat lamp for a chicken coop located under a deck in the back of the house caused it.
The commotion woke up neighbor Tai Ngo.
“I told my wife to call 911,” he said, “I ran fast from the cul-de-sac, knocked on a couple doors, while myself, I went to the front door to look for [the woman who lives in the house].”
Investigators say the home partially collapsed during the fire.
Neighbors News4 spoke with say a woman lives there. She was home alone when the fire began but was able to make it out unharmed.
“She heard a popping noise; she heard some noise. She looked outside and saw a significant fire, and it appeared to be on the deck extended to the house,” said Pete Piringer with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue. “She got out, got into her car and went to her neighbor’s house and called 911.”
Neighbors worked to comfort the homeowner.
“We wanted to make sure she got treatment because she was still shaken up,” Ngo said. “She couldn’t stand. At one point she was collapsing out on the streets.”
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue says it took 50 firefighters about 20 to 30 minutes to put out the flames.
Crews were back at the scene about nine hours after the blaze going door to door making sure neighbors had working smoke detectors.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue says the home that was damaged in this fire did have a working smoke detector
“Things related to heating equipment is the number one cause of fire this time of year,” Niringer said.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue wants to remind residents to be mindful of space heaters and other electronics during the winter months and to make sure there is enough space around them to prevent fires from happening.
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