Montgomery County Fire and Rescue are sending reports of a 3 alarm fire at 8600 Block of Piney Branch Rd in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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Around 28 units have been impacted and more than 90 people have been forced to leave their homes after being woken up by the blast. As of Thursday morning, five to seven people were unaccounted for, according to Goldstein.
Firefighters have said that part of a building at the Flower Branch Apartments complex in the Long Branch neighborhood collapsed.
It’s not clear whether the missing people are trapped inside the building or were away at the time of the fire.
A gas company at the scene has controlled the gas, Piringer said.
Resident Mariama Turay told ABC7 “it sounded like an earthquake”.
Emergency workers conducted “numerous rescues”, but their efforts were hampered by power lines and natural gas, which were fueling the fire, Montgomery County Fire and EMS spokesman Pete Piringer said. The extent of the others’ injuries was unknown.
Garcia says not everyone is yet accounted for.
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The department tweeted photos that showed a building at least partially collapsed.
