Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to a fire at Colonial Opticians at 4942 St. Elmo Avenue in Bethesda at 9:45 PM last night, November 30, 2025. The fire occurred in the store's lab area, and is currently believed to have been caused by an overloaded or malfunctioning power strip, MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer said. Over 50 firefighters were ultimately dispatched to the scene.
The electrical fire caused $300,000 in damage to the building, and $200,000 in damaged or destroyed merchandise or equipment, Piringer said today. No injuries were reported.
6 comments:
I’m curious if they do any repairs beyond keeping the structure stable given that they’re knocking that building down in a year
12:13 - That's a good point. That entire stretch is going. Maybe this will speed up the demolition. Yet another corner taken up by another huge building coming soon
Exactly what we *don't* need: another bloated overpriced apartment or condo building
Mmmmm. . . permanent shade.
OVER 50 firefighters?!
We need to stop paying for the bloated and excessive fire service in MoCo. I love em, but that’s total overkill.
@6:06, it may seem bloated and excessive to you, but that is roughly the standard response in most jurisdictions, the amount of equipment and number of personnel needed to operate safely. See my comment @12:01 in this June, 2025 post, about a fire at the Wisconsin Avenue Seven-11, to learn why professional firefighters send more people to the scene than you might think are necessary.
https://robertdyer.blogspot.com/2025/06/firefighters-respond-to-7-eleven-in.html
MCFRS is always looking for volunteers, by the way. If you have a keen interest in running into burning buildings with fewer resources backing you up than is currently SOP, you should definitely offer your services. I'm sure the men and women of the fire and rescue services, who routinely risk their lives on behalf of the community, would be most eager to learn your insights in how to better address firefighting.
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