Firefighters Battle Blaze At Mixed-Use Building In Laurel

LAUREL, MD — Howard County firefighters battled a building fire Monday morning that ended in the partial collapse of the structure.

The fire broke out around 9 a.m. at a mixed-used building located in the 9900 block of Washington Boulevard. Crews found heavy fire and smoke coming out of the building. Everyone had already evacuated beforehand, so crews worked on extinguishing the fire from the outside.

It took more than 60 firefighters at least an hour to bring the fire under control, the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services reported. While the fire affected primarily the residential portion of the structure, there was damage to the commercial area, too, officials noted. No injuries were reported.

"There were several operational challenges that crews had to overcome throughout this incident, including the collapse risk of the structure, water access issues due to the building location, electrical wires down in the yard, parked civilian vehicles exposed to the fire and a pressurized tank located near the structure that required constant cooldown—all combined with yesterday’s ice and snow and today’s temperatures," the fire department stated.

Mutual aid was provided by Anne Arundel County and Prince George’s County fire departments, as well as Fort Meade. Red Cross assistance has been requested for three adults, one child and a dog who were displaced by the fire, authorities stated.

The Office of the Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.