GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Three people are displaced after an early morning apartment fire in Gaithersburg.
Firefighters were called to the 9700 block of Fields Road in Gaithersburg early Wednesday morning for a report of a fire in a high-rise apartment building.
Firefighters arrived to find smoke coming from the sixth floor of the 27-story Washington Towers Apartments.
According to fire department spokesperson Pete Piringer, occupants of the apartment discovered the fire. One person tried unsuccessfully to put out the fire after leading his mother to safety.
Investigators said the fire started because of the misuse of an electrical power strip and caused about $30,000 in damage.
Piringer said three occupants were displaced and two were transported to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.
This is a developing story that will be updated once more information becomes available.
Back on May 24, several people were trapped in an 8-story apartment tower that caught fire Sunday afternoon in Southwest D.C., Fire and EMS officials said.
According to officials, the fire started around 2:15 p.m. Sunday in the 300 block of M Street SW, near the Waterfront Metro station.
Firefighters on the scene said that people were trapped in the tower as they battled the two-alarm blaze.
EMS was on the scene evaluating several occupants. Officials said there were no significant injuries reported.
Fire officials said they continued to remove smoke as well as sheltered people in place.
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