A Maryland family is safe but in need of a place to stay after a fire ripped through their home. News4’s Jackie Bensen reports.
An overnight fire in the Barnesville area of Montgomery County destroyed a large family home, despite tanker trucks full of water brought in to fight the blaze. The occupants, three adults and three children, made it to safety from the fast moving fire.
Images and radio transmissions from the Montgomery County Fire Department show the large house on Peachtree Road, just east of the small town of Barnesville, was already being consumed by flames when first responders arrived around 2:30 a.m.
Because the rural area has no fire hydrants, tanker trucks full of water were brought in and pumped out through what’s known as a “tower.”
“We call them what we call a water supply task force, which eventually would be six water tankers,” said Montgomery County Fire Department Spokesman Pete Piringer. “These are trucks that carry about 3,000 gallons of water each
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Montgomery County Fire Department spokesman Pete Piringer posted an update from the scene.
The fire department estimates between 60 and 70 thousand gallons of water were used to extinguish the blaze.
Hours later, the remains of the home were still smoldering in some spots.
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While the occupants of the house were able to make it safely out, they are now without a home.
Because of the scope of this destruction, it’s likely to take some time for investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
