Around 75 Montgomery County firefighters responded to a garage fire that extended into a home on the 12600 block of Davan Drive in Colesville on Monday morning around 1:45am. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS, sleeping residents were alerted to smoke in the home by their Google NEST ‘smart’ device (originally reported to be an Amazon Alexa). Upon awakening, they tracked smoke to the attached garage and attempted to enter to investigate, but were pushed back by smoke and heat.
A family of six (four adults and two children) were displaced. There were no injuries reported and damages are now estimated to be $550K, which includes several vehicles. The electrical fire originated in an outlet that was charging an electric bike and an electric lawnmower battery, and the cause of the fire was determined to be combustibles too close to a heat source.
Per @mcpdPIO on twitter: (~145a) 12600blk Davan Dr, off Eldrid Dr, Colesville, single-family house, garage fire, @mcfrs PE718, PE712, PE715, PE716, PE721, AT724, AT718, RS742B, A724, BC701, BC704, RS715, T715, T716, A742, ALS742B, PE725, E705, T725, A742B & others responded
Update/CORRECTION: (9/19) Davan Dr, @MontgomeryCoMD house fire; **Google NEST ‘smart’ device ALERTED family (sorry Alexa); 1 family safely escaped; Damage total >$550K, incl several vehicles; ~75 @mcfrs FFs responded, 1st arriving encounters heavy fire coming from attached garage https://t.co/IDNgS5LZDZ pic.twitter.com/OocTWfRRuv
— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) September 22, 2022