Medium Rare Delivers 600 Meals to Campers at Camp Airy in Frederick After Fire Destroys Dining Hall and Causes $2 Million in Damages

“When crisis strikes, we help get the community back on its feet!” That was the quote from local restaurant Medium Rare as they prepared to deliver 600 meals for campers at Camp Airy in Frederick, after a fire destroyed the camp dining hall, causing $2 million in damages on Wednesday.

“Today in partnership with Feed the Fridge, we will be preparing and delivering 600 meals for campers at Camp Airy in Frederick Co., MD after their mess hall was destroyed in a large fire yesterday. Meals include Steak and Grilled Chicken with Salad, along with a vegetarian option.

Our mission is to ensure that every person, no matter their circumstance has access to a nutritious, filling meal. We need donations to continue responding to crises’ in our community. Visit feedthefridge.org today to donate!” Medium Rare has a Montgomery County location in Bethesda.

Additional information on Wednesday’s fire: On Wednesday June 29, 2022, the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services was dispatched to a building fire at Camp Airy, located at 14938 Old Camp Airy Road, Thurmont, Maryland. A Frederick County Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officer as well as a Maryland State Trooper were first on the scene and confirmed smoke on the second floor of the structure and that the building was evacuated. Arriving fire crews located the camp’s dining hall with visible smoke and a rapid intervention dispatch, tanker task force, and second alarm were requested. The incident brought in over 100 firefighters from Maryland and Pennsylvania to battle the blaze. Fire and Rescue crews were able to isolate the fire to the dining hall and Camp Airy staff relocated all campers safely to a distant section of the property. The fire was brought under control in about three hours but numerous crews remained on scene for the duration of the day extinguishing hot spots.

As is normal for a fire this substantial, hot spots rekindled overnight and throughout the morning today bringing crews back out to continuously monitor and put water on it. Today, local construction company, W. F. Delauter & Son provided an excavator to assist with moving debris so that firefighters could access material that was still smoldering. Over 85,000 gallons of water was placed on the remnants of the structure to ensure it was completely extinguished.

The Frederick County Fire Investigations Task Force has remained on site since yesterday morning investigating and assessing damages. They will continue to work to determine the exact cause but have ruled out any intentional or suspicious factors. The building has been determined to be a total loss and damages are estimated to be around two-million dollars. The incident lead to no injuries and Camp Airy has continued to operate as normal.

Anyone interested in donating to Camp Airy, can do so here.