Millions Expected In Damages For College Park Building Destroyed By Fire
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WJZ) -- On Monday night, firefighters were still battling a fire that tore through a College Park apartment building. The massive fire near the University of Maryland campus brought all sorts of havoc on the neighborhood throughout the day.
George Solis has a closer look at the damage and the impact it's had.
The cost of the damage expected to be approximately $40 million dollars. Fire officials tell WJZ this fire is on track to be one of the greatest firefighting efforts in Prince George's County history. More than 200 firefighters from across the region worked to extinguish the raging inferno.
From high above, chopper footage shows plumes of thick black smoke which was visible for miles, as massive fire tears through an apartment building in the process of being built in College Park, Maryland.
The raging inferno was first a threat to construction crews on scene at the Fuse 47 apartment building
Crew member on radio: "Be advised there seems to be people in this building. We're working on getting them out too."
For hours, heavy smoke threatened more than just the scene off Berwyn House Road.
Between the 200 plus firefighters and road closures, people's days in College Park were significantly impacted.
"It kind of just looked like there was fog everywhere," says one student.
At one point, the blanket of smoke was so bad, the University of Maryland campus which is nearby, was shut down in the early afternoon, over concerns of air quality.
"It was really thick, it was a little hard to breathe as you got closer," says one student.
"I was in class on the far side of the building with a classroom that had no windows in it and the smell was definitely palpable," says University of Maryland Student Isaac Zhodzishsky.
Right across from the burning building, several seniors from the Spellman House were evacuated.
"Thankful to have a home to come to," says one resident to WJZ as tenants returned hours later.
By nightfall, firefighters had contained the fire, but were still putting out hot spots. Some efforts to fight the fire were made a challenge because of the apartment's location and ongoing construction limitations
"Sprinkler system, fire doors which would hold the fire in-check and keep it from spreading to one room to the other," says Prince George's County Fire spokesman Mark Brady.
Fears of the building collapsing are also high, so no fire crews abe being allowed in.
While the cause is unknown, officials say the fire appears to have started in upper floors and spread to the roof.
There are three injuries to report so far, including two firefighters -- one with an ankle injury, and the other was taken to the hospital for overexertion. One woman also reported she had issues breathing.
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