Friday, January 30, 2015

FIRE AT GLEN ECHO PARK (PHOTO)

Montgomery County firefighters responded to Glen Echo Park around 3:00 AM this morning, after an automatic fire alarm alerted authorities, according to MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer. Firefighters found heavy smoke in an arts building at the front of the park, which faces MacArthur Boulevard.

"We're gonna need some lights in here to determine exactly what's on fire," one firefighter was heard to say via scanner. "No active fire right now," one eventually reported at 3:35. Silverworks Studio and an unidentified painting studio were checked for fire and cleared at 3:39, according to scanner reports.

By 3:40, one firefighter determined a thermostat in an art studio/jewelry shop as the likely source of the fire and smoke. Piringer said sprinklers stopped the fire, there were no injuries, and that damage to the building was "moderate."

The historic (1892) Chautauqua Tower is adjacent to the studios mentioned during the scanner reports, so it's positive news that this fire was extinguished so quickly. It is the last remnant of the original Chautauqua at Glen Echo, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Photo via Pete Piringer


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's funny how the timestamp of this article is 2 hours and 52 minutes before the fire department is reported to have responded.

Anonymous said...

"*1* hour and 52 minutes..."

Anonymous said...

How am I so much cooler than Dyer? It's simple. I'm just alive.

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile, he missed the much more serious home fire in North Bethesda.

Anonymous said...

@ 6:13 AM
That's because the North Bethesda fire wasn't near the "Legendary and World-famous" amusement park known as Glen Echo Park!

Anonymous said...

5 comments about nothing. Slow day guys?

Anonymous said...

@4:35 Timestamps are in Pacific Time, where Google/Blogspot is based, genius.