MCFRS: Fireworks cause significant Fourth of July house fire in Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) — A person is displaced and their home significantly damaged after a Fourth of July fire broke out late Thursday night in Aspen Hill.

Crews with the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) were initially dispatched to the 144000 block of Brade Drive at about 11:30 p.m. A fire at a single-family home there had started in the carport’s roof and spread to the attic space.

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the department, said in a post on X that aerial fireworks had started the fire.

He estimated that damages totaled around $500,000, including $400,000 in damage done to the structure of the house and $100,000 in damages done to the carport’s contents, car and neighbor’s shed.

In an email to DC News Now, Piringer noted that fire investigators believe the fireworks came from a neighbor’s direction, not the home’s owner. The homeowner was alerted by a smoke alarm when smoke came into the living space.

One person was displaced and no one was hurt. Piringer noted that about 65 firefighters were at the scene.

Notably, he said, fire investigators and police confiscated thousands of dollars worth of fireworks on the Fourth of July.

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