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More than 100 people displaced after 3-alarm fire rips through Rockville apartment

Fire investigators now believe the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning HVAC unit that burned through the roof, causing $1.5M in damage.

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County firefighters responded to a three-alarm fire in Rockville Monday morning, that has left more than 100 residents searching for a new place to live, just weeks before the holiday season begins. 

Fire crews were called to a three-story apartment building in the 800 block of College Parkway just before 9 a.m. When crews arrived, they found the building with heavy fire conditions and called a second and third alarm to get more firefighters to the scene. The blaze roared through the attic, eventually spreading to a second building, and leaving about 30 buildings gutted by smoke and flames or flooded by water. 

Firefighters said two residents were injured and rushed to the hospital, but they said both were expected to survive. Neighbors say firefighters had to break through the window of one of the victims here to get him out as fire raged above him, while another victim got a face full of burning embers.

In total, 100 firefighters helped battle the blaze. Police and firefighters escorted shell shocked seniors to safety. The fire spread just as a lot of people were getting ready for work.

“Someone was yelling, ‘Fire, fire, fire," Nick Jury, whose condo was badly damaged, said. "All this smoke. And when I came out, the top of that unit is all on fire. Engulfed in fire."

Brent Platt and his girlfriend watched as firefighters spent hours mopping up hotspots. 

“It sucks because I had a lot of stuff in there, and it’s a shame that it’s gone," Platt said. "But at the end of the day, I’m glad I’m here with my family. My girlfriend is here, and I have a place to stay."

The Red Cross is working to make sure all the victims have a place to stay.

Fire investigators now believe the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning HVAC unit that burned through the roof above apartment 303, with an estimated $1.5 million done in damage.

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