Be cautious around landscaping

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service reminds residents to use caution and common sense when it comes to fire safety as warm weather arrives. One of the most common causes of fires this time of year is improperly discarded smoking materials. Montgomery County Fire Chief Richard Bowers is urging residents to be aware of the dangers of improperly discarded cigarettes, particularly around landscaping. “The risk of a mulch fire is more common than one might expect. We have seen a steep increase in mulch fires as commercial and public facilities ban smoking inside buildings and smoking materials are discarded into landscaped areas as people enter and/or exit a building presenting a significant safety hazard,” said Chief Bowers.

• If you smoke, PLEASE properly dispose of all smoking materials and matches. • If you see anything smoking in a landscaped bed, put it out safely if possible and immediately report it to someone inside the building. If the burning material is not thoroughly doused with water or removed, it may re-ignite.

SOURCE: MCFRS

Beltsville 2-Alarm Warehouse Fire With Explosions

United States (Maryland) - Firefighters encountered more then heavy smoke and fire at a Beltsville warehouse fire. Fire/EMS units were dispatched to Precision Cycle Works, 11323 Old Baltimore Pike, Beltsville, Maryland, for 911 reports of an explosion and fire at about 1:45 PM, Thursday, April 8, 2010. First arriving firefighters from Beltsville Fire/EMS Station 831 and Greenbelt Fire/EMS Station 835 were the first to arrive and observed heavy smoke from the roof area, towards the rear of the structure, of a 1-story brick, middle of the row, commercial warehouse. These units established a water supply and entered the structure with charged hoselines in attempts to extinguish the fire. Firefighters were updated that there was a quantity of handgun ammunition and re-loading supplies in the area where the initial explosion occurred. There were rapid and continuous sounds of the ammunition discharging and larger sounds of explosions with percussions felt by everyone inside or near the structure. A 360 exterior examination of the structure revealed bulging of the front garage door and rear wall, as well as, the roof assembly displayed signs that it had shifted. All of these observations indicated that a significant explosion had occurred. With heavy blinding smoke on the interior and a maze of walls and obstacles, firefighters could not immediately locate the seat of the fire. Coupled with inherent dangers of a fire in a large automotive repair warehouse and the report of the structural instability of the structure; incident commanders ordered the evacuation of all firefighters. SOURCE: Firfighting News

Mystery surrounds the burning of a local armored truck

By Phil Speake. Police say they still don't have any idea what caused the fire of an armored truck that caught fire last weekend on Interstate 270 in Montgomery County. "My assumption is some kind of oil leak," said Lt. Iris Click, commander of the Maryland State Police Rockville office. "All we did was handle the car fire…it was fully engulfed in flames." The truck was apparently transporting money to a Frederick depot. Authorities have not said how much.

Maryland State Police responded to the scene and managed to get the fire under control. The United States Secret Service was also called in to assist with the situation. "I know of no reason for us to respond," a secret service spokesman said. "In sixteen years I've never heard of such a case."

Officials survey the scene after the fire was extinguished.

The truck is owned and operated by Dunbar Armored, but officials with the company have refused to comment on specifics of the incident. State Police say they have no idea how much money was in the truck, or what other cargo there was in the vehicle. They also are unaware of what caused the fire. An eyewitness who was traveling behind the armored truck on I-270 says he saw something dragging on the bottom of the truck. The witness described what looked like a tailpipe, but it was flexible and causing sparks on the road. "After he [the driver of the truck] stopped it erupted quickly," said the eyewitness. Within a few minutes another armored truck pulled up on the shoulder a few hundred feet from the engulfed truck to assist the driver and other passenger of the truck. Dunbar Armored has a depot in Fredrick, which - according to officials - was most likely the intended destination for the truck. The witness says he saw what looked like management personnell looking over the burned truck after the fire was extinguished.

Money burned on I-270

An armored truck carrying U.S. currency caught fire Friday afternoon traveling north on I-270 near Route 121. State police out of Rockville and county firefighters were called to the scene at 2:09 p.m. to help the truck’s driver and two guards, who are employed with Dunbar Armored Inc. All three men escaped without injury, according to a spokesman with the Maryland state troopers.

“We don’t know why it caught fire but it was completely engulfed in flames and we had to close 270 down for a half an hour,” said a spokesman with the state troopers. Northbound traffic was forced to use a single lane for a mile-long stretch of the highway for the next hour, until the fire was completely under control.

“Even after we put it out, we had to give the vehicle some space because whenever there is oil involved another fire can happen, but nothing like that happened this time,” said a spokesman with the state troopers. There were no explosions associated with the fire. Dunbar personnel and the U.S. Secret Service were also called to the scene, but were unavailable for comment as of Monday. No word on how much cash was being carried inside the vehicle or how it caught fire.

SOURCE: Sentinel