Fire Caused $39 Million in Damage to College Park Building, a PG County Record

COLLEGE PARK, MD — The massive five-alarm fire that raged at an apartment building under construction in College Park on Monday caused a staggering $39 million in damage, according to Prince George's County Fire and EMS, which noted that the figure is a record for the fire department.

More than 200 firefighters from Prince George's County as well as Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Howard counties and the District of Columbia battled the blaze for many hours at the 250-apartment Fuse 47 building, which was slated to open in July 2017. Thick smoke hung in the air of College Park all day, forcing the nearby University of Maryland to shut down and causing the evacuation of a senior center. Two firefighters received minor injuries.

Firefighters were alerted to the fire at 4700 Berwyn House ROad at 9:35 a.m., and found a 7-story mid-rise commercial/residential building with fire showing from the 6th floor, according to a statement from PG County Fire and EMS.

"As firefighters stretched hose lines and alerted construction workers to evacuate the building the fire rapidly extended to the top floor and roof," the report states. "Firefighters were soon evacuated from interior firefighting and extinguishment was left to master water stream devices on ladder trucks."

The fire consumed the roof of the building, and firefighting continued through the evening and into Tuesday morning.

"Hotspots and hard to reach areas continue to burn," the report states. "Firefighters will remain on the scene flowing water into the structure. No firefighters are being allowed to re-enter the structure."

Residents of the nearby Spellman House senior center were allowed back into their building at 7 p.m. One adult female resident was taken to the hospital with difficulty breathing.

One firefighter suffered from fatigue and was taken to the hospital, and another firefighter injured an ankle, although he remained at the scene.

“The mutual aid response from our neighboring jurisdictions was much needed, appreciated and put to good use,” PG County Fire Chief Ben Barksdale said in a statement. “Additionally many jurisdictions from throughout the National Capital Region filled in at our stations ensuring the County remained protected with adequate fire and EMS resources.”

Authorities are investigating the cause of the fire. They estimate the fire loss to be about $39 million, making it the largest suppression effort and highest fire loss estimate in the history of the PG County Fire/EMS Department.

Images via PG County Fire spokesman Mark Brady