2 Firefighters Injured, Fire Trucks Worth $1.5M Destroyed at Storage Yard Blaze

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Two fire trucks with a replacement value of about $1.5 million were destroyed Monday as more than 100 firefighters from around Prince George’s County battled a fire in an industrial storage yard full of petroleum products, officials said.

Firefighters were called to the three-alarm fire in the 8700 block of Ashwood Drive in Capital Heights about 5:15 pm, Monday.

Two attached warehouses that housed a roofing company and bathroom/closet remodelers – both with large amounts of combustible and petroleum-based products – were kept out of the fire, says Mark Brady, public information officer for the Prince George’s County Fire Department.

The storage yard was filled with automobiles, wood pallets, roofing materials, propane tanks, sea containers loaded with combustibles, sheds and other combustible items. The column of thick black smoke rising from the fire that could be seen for miles indicated tar, tires, shingles, and other petroleum products were burning, Brady say.

The strong north wind kept the fire and smoke away from the warehouses.

But a sudden shift in wind direction to the east helped the fire intensify and burn toward a Kentland Rescue-Engine 833 and West Lanham Hills engine 848, which were initially positioned several hundred feet away from the fire.

Brady said firefighters tried to move the fire trucks and use the water they had onboard to protect the equipment, but were unable to save it. The fire overran the two units and destroyed them; replacement cost for the two trucks is about $1.5 million.

Firefighters gained control of the blaze in about 90 minutes, although hot spots burned throughout the night.

Foam units from College Park and Joint Base Andrews were called to the scene to help completely extinguish the fire.

Hazardous Materials crews at the scene monitored the runoff from the site into a nearby creek. They used absorbent booms to catch debris and waste products to minimize the affect to the environment, Brady said.

Two firefighters suffered minor burn injuries and were treated and released from a burn unit.

Fire investigators remained on the scene throughout the night trying to identify the point of origin of the fire and the likely cause. Fire loss is estimated at $1.5 million.

»Photos, video by Mark E. Brady, PGFD PIO

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