Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) were called to the scene of a fire on Aventurine Way, off of Serpentine Way, in Fairland at approximately 9pm on Friday night.

According to MCFRS Chief Spokesperson Pete Piringer, crews arrived to find a heavy fire with the occupants already out of the single family home. The cause of the fire is currently undetermined, but Piringer notes that it may have been due to an electrical failure in an exterior light fixture or smoking materials that ignited combustibles below the rear deck. There was approximately $600k in damage and five people were displaced. Two firefighters were injured with non-life threatening injuries.


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) responded to a collision on E Randolph Rd, between Stratford Garden Dr & Tourmaline Ct in Fairland on Saturday afternoon. According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, the collision involved involved two vehicles. Three individual had to extricated after being trapped in their vehicles and a total of six patients (4 adults/2 teens) were transported for injuries, including one adult with Priority 1 trauma.

Some lanes are currently blocked. A sand truck has been requested due to fuel/oil spillage on the road. We will post an update when additional information is available.


Plan seeks to improve transit access, housing and shopping options, and pedestrian connections along U.S. 29/Columbia Pike; community invited to continue to participate during Planning Board public process

The Montgomery County Planning Department will present the Working Draft of the Fairland and Briggs Chaney Master Plan to the Montgomery County Planning Board during its weekly meeting on Thursday, March 23. During this meeting, the Planning Board will have the opportunity to provide initial feedback, accept the Working Draft Plan as the Public Hearing Draft, and set the date for a public hearing to receive additional community feedback. This is the first step prior to the Planning Board conducting work sessions to review and revise the draft plan and then submitting the draft plan to the County Council for its public review and final approval.


Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police- Special Victims Investigations Division (SVID) are asking for the public’s assistance in locating a missing 15-year-old from the Fairland area of Silver Spring.  Belinda Garcia-Bonilla was last seen on Wednesday, February 22, 2023, at approximately 10 p.m., in the 14300 block of Fairdale Rd.

Garcia-Bonilla is approximately 5-feet, 3-inches tall and weighs 125 pounds. She has brown eyes and shoulder length hair that is dyed blonde. It is unknown what she was last seen wearing. She was also carrying a red and blue backpack and a separate pink backpack.  Police and family are concerned for her welfare.


Edge, a full-service commercial real estate firm with offices in Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania brokered the sale of 12101 Tech Road, a 58,280 square foot flex/office building located in the Silver Spring section of Montgomery County, Maryland for over $12.8 million in mid 2022. 12101 Tech Road features 22-foot ceiling heights and a free, surface parking lot that can accommodate more than 100 vehicles. The premises also features multiple loading docks and is home to a total of three tenants making the property 100% leased at the time of the sale. Kingdom Fellowship Church, which occupied over 40,000 square feet, was expected to vacate later in the year.

The asset is in close proximity to MD Route 200 (Intercounty Connector), Interstate 95, and Interstate 495. The property is also within walking distance to the upcoming White Oak Town Center Development, WesTech Village Corner, and minutes away from Orchard Center, which offers numerous sit-down and fast-casual restaurants, shopping, and hotel options. The property is also conveniently located close to Adventist Healthcare White Oak Medical Center. “Acquiring assets of this size in the Montgomery County submarket has become increasingly difficult, given the lack of available properties for purchase, combined with the large volume of investors seeking investments in the Washington, D.C. suburbs.”, stated Robert Pugh of Edge. “The new owner acquired a high-quality and well-maintained asset that will easily support its business operations, which makes this an extremely sound business decision on many levels,” stated Kenneth Fellows of Edge.


Compass Health Center, a group that provides intermediate levels of behavioral health care, including outpatient psychiatry, partial hospitalization (PHP), and intensive outpatient (IOP) programming, has signed a lease with SJ Capital Partners to occupy 15,732 square feet of space at 11941 Bournefield Way in WestTech Business Park (in the White Oak area). Kenneth Fellows and Robert Pugh, Partners with Advisory Services with Edge, represented the landlord and Brandon Nasatir of Savills represented the tenant in this transaction.

Compass Health Center, headquartered in Illinois, is one of the leading providers of PHP/IOP and psychiatric services in the country. Compass is expanding by opening its first Washington, D.C.-area location. Founded in 2011 by psychiatrists David Schreiber, MD, and Claudia Welke, MD, Compass Health Center works to achieve successful outcomes for patients struggling with symptoms of depression, anxiety, trauma, OCD, and bipolar disorder. Compass’s Silver Spring location will open in September 2023 with adolescent, young adult, and adult in-person and virtual programs, with plans to add child programming in 2024.


Tenacious, life-changing and strong leader are just some of the outstanding qualities used to describe this Silver Spring elementary school teacher and the latest Milken Educator Award recipient: Dion Jones. Jones was surprised with the national honor at a vibrant schoolwide assembly earlier this week. Milken Educator Awards Senior Vice President Dr. Jane Foley and Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury presented Jones with the prestigious recognition and the unrestricted cash prize to be used however he likes.

Jones, a third grade teacher at Fairland Elementary School in the Montgomery County Public School District, is among up to 40 elementary educators across the nation who will receive the Milken Educator Award during the 2022-2023 school year. On top of today’s celebration, he will have the opportunity to join the national Milken Educator Network of more than 2,900 exceptional K-12 educators and leaders across the country. Honorees receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles this April.


Edge has brokered three new leases at 12301 Old Columbia Pike in the area between White Oak, Fairland, and Calverton (all considered Silver Spring) in Montgomery County.  Dance Silver Spring, LLC, an upscale dance studio for children and adults that operates more than 300 studios worldwide, was represented by Jonathan Hamburger of CBRE. Graphic Communications Conference of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a union that represents more than 60,000 workers in all craft and skill areas in the printing and publishing industries, and Habesha Spring Driving School, a professional driving school that offers a variety of driving classes for students of all ages were self-represented and are among the new tenants in the building.

Per Edge: Located at the intersection of MD Route 29 and Tech Road, 12301 Old Columbia Pike features nearly 34,000 square feet of commercial office. Renovated in 2021, the asset is less than two miles from MD Route 200 (Intercounty Connector), three miles from Interstate 95, and four miles from the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495). A number of hotels, restaurants, big-box retailers and fitness centers, as well as other amenities, are located within close proximity. The property is also directly across the White Oak Town Center Development, which will house more than 100,00 square feet of new retail amenities.


Per MCPD: Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police -Major Crimes Division are investigating an attempted commercial armed robbery that occurred inside Karen’s Seafood in the 13800 block of Outlet Drive. Detectives have released surveillance video of the suspect and are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him.

At approximately 7:28 p.m., 3rd District officers responded to the location for the report of an attempted armed robbery that just occurred. The investigation by detectives has determined that an unknown suspect entered Karen’s Seafood, armed with a firearm. The suspect approached multiple patrons inside the restaurant, pointed his firearm at them and demanded money. When the patrons failed to comply with the suspect’s demands, he approached an employee at the cash register. For reasons still under investigation, the suspect fled the scene without obtaining any currency from the establishment.


Montgomery County Police responded to the area of Briggs Chaney Road and Columbia Pike at approximately 7:32 pm on Wednesday night for the report of an attempted commercial armed robbery that occurred at Karen’s Seafood in the Briggs Chaney MarketPlace shopping center.


Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services (MCFRS) were called to the scene of a collision on Route 29 and Fairland Road at approximately 2pm on Saturday afternoon, according to MCFRS public information officer Pete Piringer.

Two patients were transported to local hospitals with non-life threatening injuries. Northbound Route 29 was was closed for a couple hours, according to the Montgomery County office of Emergency Management. All lanes are now open, but residual delays should be expected.


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