Crime & Safety
Updated: House Fire Causes Significant Damage to Potomac Home
Vantage Court home sustained $750,000 in damages.
Updated, 5:30 p.m. Thursday: The cause and origin of the Vantage Court house fire remains undetermined, according to fire rescue officials.
Investigators returned to the home Thursday but were still unable to access all areas of the home, due to the extent of the fire, said Montgomery County Fire Captain Oscar Garcia. Garcia said that he hopes to have an update by Friday morning.
Damage to the Vantage Court home is estimated at $750,000.
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Updated, 8:15 a.m. Thursday: Wednesday's fire at the 10600 block of Vantage Court in Potomac has been preliminarily determined accidental, officials said.
The homeowner’s mother was home when the fire broke out and was able to safely evacuate, according to ABC7 reports. When fire services arrived at the scene the fire was so intense that at points firefighters were unable to enter the home and had to resort to a defensive position to keep the fire from spreading. A language barrier may have caused a 20-minute delay in reporting the fire, Assistant Chief Scott Graham of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services said.
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The Red Cross is assisting the two adults and one child left homeless due to the fire, according to Graham. Damage to the home is so significant that investigators may not be able to enter the home to continue the investigation until later Thursday afternoon.
Due to the extensive damage, authorities may be unable to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire, Graham said.
Original story, 9 p.m. Wednesday: Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services responded to a fire at a single-family home on the 10600 block of Vantage Court in Potomac around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
Due to heavy fire conditions at the site, rescue services could only take a defensive position, trying to keep the fire from spreading, according to Assistant Chief Scott Graham of MCFRS.
As of 8:37 p.m. the fire was under control, though there is extensive damage to the home. No injuries have been reported.
The origin and cause of the fire are under investigation.
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