A fire tore through an apartment building in College Park, Maryland, on Monday morning, destroying homes and displacing about 75 people. Two residents had minor injuries, authorities said.
Video shows flames leaping from the roof of the Wynfield Park Apartments on Baltimore Avenue, near the Ikea store just north of the Capital Beltway. Chopper4 footage shows heavy damage and upper-level apartments exposed, with no roof above them.
Residents said they hurried to get out after hearing alarms.
“I saw smoke. I ran to the rooms and told everyone, ‘Get out, get up, get out!’ We went back to the balcony door and it was on fire, just totally aflame. We ran out at the nick of time because our whole apartment was just enveloped in black smoke,” resident Keenya Hunter said.
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Resident Cecily Morgan said she was thankful to have made it out.
“I’m just appreciative that the alarms went off, that I could hear and say to my son, ‘Get up, get the dogs, let’s get out,’” she said.
“Some of these neighbors just moved in. These are people’s lives that have burned to the ground,” Morgan added.
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Prince George’s County firefighters were dispatched at about 8:10 a.m. They were able to put out the blaze with help from crews including those from Montgomery County.
When the roof collapsed, a mayday call went out to make sure no firefighters had been lost, the Prince George’s County fire department confirmed. All firefighters were accounted for and none were hurt.
Firefighters could be seen walking in upper-level apartments with no roof above them. Crews remained at the building for hours and had to put out hot spots that flared up.
The smoke detectors and sprinklers in the building worked, investigators said. Officials are working to determine the cause of the fire.
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Fire officials said the building is likely to be condemned because of the damage from smoke and water.
The Red Cross and county officials are working to provide resources for residents who are now scrambling for someplace to go.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
