SILVER SPRING, Md. — A massive fire has been raging at a vacant elementary school in Silver Spring since 9 p.m. Tuesday night.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to a two-alarm fire at JoAnn Leleck Elementary School at Broad Acres on the 700 block of Beacon Road Tuesday night. As of 6:04 a.m. Wednesday morning, the fire is still burning.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire was venting from the roof. Fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said the fire was difficult to access. At midnight, Piringer said the bulk of the fire had been contained but that fire seemed to be burning in concealed and void spaces.
The unoccupied elementary school is under construction and is scheduled for demolition, according to Piringer. The area is fenced off.
Approximately 75 firefighters have responded to the scene since the initial dispatch at 9 p.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Piringer offered some insight into why it has taken fire crews so long to extinguish the blaze. So far, firefighters have used over a million gallons of water battling the flames.
He said roofing material is making the fight difficult.
"If this had been an occupied building we would have gotten up on the roof to help aid us and stop the fire contain it more," Piringer said. "But we weren’t going to do that because of the nature of the building and size of the fire, we didn’t want to put anybody in danger."
Since the elementary school was set for demolition, the sprinkler system had been turned on. Now, Piringer is hoping demolition can be moved up to help put the fire out completely.
"Last night and this morning we’re talking with the school system and their contractor to kind of see where are with that," he said.
Piringer said ideally the demolition would happen Tuesday. But for now, we are still waiting to see how things move forward. Fire officials assure neighbors there are no major health hazards from smoke, despite it being seen and smelled from miles away.
Meanwhile, Montgomery County Public Schools said in a statement that once the fire is fully extinguished, the school system will evaluate potential impacts on the construction timeline.
The full statement is below:
A fire broke out last night at the construction site for the new JoAnn Leleck Elementary School at Broad Acres. The building was in the process of being replaced, and students have been attending school at the temporary Fairfield Center location since the start of the current school year. We are deeply grateful to the Montgomery County Fire Department for their swift response and ongoing efforts to contain the fire. Our thoughts are with the surrounding community, and we remain hopeful for their safety. Once the fire is extinguished, we will assess the extent of the damage and evaluate any potential impacts on the construction timeline.