Fire at Germantown Townhouse Under Investigation

Fire officials are investigating the cause of a blaze at a Germantown townhouse Thursday.

At around 11:40 a.m., 11 box units were dispatched to an empty, two-story townhouse condo at 11424 Appledore Way, Assistant Chief Stephen R. Jones said from the scene of the fire.

Upon arrival, firefighters found flames on the second floor. It took 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which required 55 firefighters at its peak, said Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service Spokesman Cpt. Oscar Garcia.

There were no reports of injuries, Garcia said.

The fire did not spread to adjacent units, though smoke had dissipated to units to the left right and rear of the town house, Garcia said.

Neighbor John Ambrogi, 39, lives in the unit behind the townhouse that caught fire. He said he heard a “banging” sound at around 11:15 a.m.

“I saw that the down stairs was filled with smoke,” Ambrogi said. “I’m very thankful the fire didn’t come over. I've got cats in there”

Ambrogi said he didn’t know the people who lived at the house that caught fire. According to publicly available property tax records, the person listed as the condo owner has a different mailing address and doesn’t list it as a principal residence.

Fire officials are still investigating the fire’s origin and are assessing the damage, Garcia said.