MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A large fire burning through a section of an industrial site at a quarry in Rockville was finally extinguished Thursday evening, after burning for more than 7 hours. Investigators say the tanks that burned had liquid asphalt inside, and that no one was ever in danger.
Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service said the fire was under control by 7 p.m., and they had been dispatched to the fire around 11:45 a.m. The industrial site is located at 13900 Piney Meeting House Road in Rockville.
Firefighters arrived at the edge of the large quarry where they found several stationary oil tanks on fire.
There were more than 75 firefighters on scene, along with representatives with gas and power companies servicing the area.
While the fire department is at the site, they are keeping a safe distance as black smoke billows over Montgomery County.
By 4 p.m., the fire dissipated a bit, and vehicles could be seen on Sky9 could be seen dumping what appeared to be dirt onto the flames. While Montgomery County Fire said they were waiting for foam to arrive, the dirt was the endgame to smother the remaining flames.
After 5 p.m., the fire started to flame up more and work to dump dirt on it stopped, likely due to safety. Just after 6 p.m., foam trucks finally arrived on scene and began knocking down the flames. When Sky9 left the scene, the fire appeared mostly out from our vantage point.
The fire department has not heard of any injuries.
"This was a fairly remote area on a very large industrial complex," Pete Piringer, Chief Spokesperson for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service, said. "No homes were in danger of any fire or explosion. We did monitor the smoke conditions and are advice to the residents was treat this as a bad pollution day."
The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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