How to Help Victims of Maryland Apartment Fire

SILVER SPRING, MD — As family members without phones, money or anything but the clothes on their backs grapple with the devastation of a fatal apartment fire, Montgomery County residents are asking how they can help in the recovery.

About midnight, sleeping families in the Flower Branch Apartments, 8600 block of Piney Branch Road in Silver Spring, were jolted by an explosion and fire that destroyed one building and damaged others nearby. By Thursday morning, as the flames were doused and survivors began to look ahead, county and Red Cross officials were guiding the community on how to help.

Tracking Missing, Reuniting Families
Residents who need to report persons unaccounted for since the fire should contact MC 311, says the county's emergency management office. MC 311 will not be able to provide the location of missing persons but will get the information to fire investigations for follow-up.

Anyone who lives outside Montgomery County should call 240-777-0311 to ask about fire victims.

»SEE ALSO: Maryland Apartment Explosion: 2 People Dead, Dozens Injured, Others Still Missing

A shelter is set up at Long Branch Community Center with help from the Red Cross, which fed breakfast to 100 people Thursday morning. Every household is eligible for support and help in finding a new place to live, said an official, who urged all residents affected by the fire to come forward.

Paul Cardan Jr., regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross, says they expect to house 60 to 70 people, mostly families, for a few days at the community center. Cots, blankets, toiletry kits, stuffed animals, are all available. A local business has donated meals, while nurses and mental health workers from the Red Cross and the county are on hand.

"What makes this different from other fires is the explosion," Cardan told Patch.

Officials from various agencies are working to find more permanent housing for the residents.

Many of the apartment complex residents are immigrants, officials said. Bilingual specialists in Spanish and Amharic (for Ethiopian families) are at the community center to help families, and a clinic across the road from the community center is taking walk-in patients to get people medications and to provide followup care for anyone discharged from the hospital.

Donations should not be taken to the Long Branch Center; a list of nonprofit agencies that are able to accept clothing and other items is posted below. Cash donations should be made to the American Red Cross.

Anyone with missing relatives can also walk into Rolling Terrace Elementary School, 705 Bayfield St. in Takoma Park, where a meeting center has been established.

How to Help Apartment Fire Victims
Montgomery County officials said residents who want to donate either goods or money to help the Long Branch fire victims can do so several ways. There is an immediate need for baby formula and diapers, which should be taken to CASA, at 734 University Blvd. East in Silver Spring.

MAIL (via check) FINANCIAL DONATION

Mail it to: Montgomery Housing Partnership (Attn: Long Branch Fire), 12200 Tech Road, Suite 250, Silver Spring, MD 20904[*] Write LONG BRANCH FIRE in check memo.

ONLINE FINANCIAL DONATION

(Easiest - and preferred) [1] Go to the Montgomery Housing Partnershp website: www.MHPartners.org [2] Click on "Give Direct" (on right side of your screen) [3] Input amount and credit card number[*] Make sure you indicate LONG BRANCH FIRE in the 'comment' box.

GOODS

Toiletries, canned/boxed food, and clothing should be taken to the CASA Welcome Center, 734 University Blvd. East (Off University Blvd, just south of Piney Branch)

CASA Welcome Center, 734 University Blvd East (Off University Blvd, just south of Piney Branch)

A Wider Circle, 9151 Brookeville Rd., Silver Spring Phone #:301-608-3504 Call for pick-up; drop-off furniture 7 days a week

Adventist Community Services of Greater Washington, 501 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, Phone #: 301-585-6556

Donations:

• Checks can be sent to ACSGW at 501 Sligo Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910 (Make checks payable to ACSGW) Emergency Fund.
• Online and pay via PayPal and mark it “Other” or Emergency Fund at www.acsgw.org
• Clothing, houseware items, toiletries, blankets, sheets, etc. are needed --- No furniture

ACSGW will be open for calls and services at the following days and times during this weekend:

Friday – 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Saturday – 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
Sunday – 1 p.m. until 4 p.m.
The agency has a Spanish-speaking case manager for any help or questions.

Downtown Silver Spring's BurgerFi will donate 10 percent of all sales between 11 a.m. and noon on Friday, Aug. 12, to the Flower Branch Apartment residents that were affected by the fire.

»Flower Branch fire photo courtesy of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services; photo of residents watching search at apartment building and Red Cross activities by Patch Editor Mary Ann Barton