Around 65 Montgomery County firefighters responded to a 1-story single family house fire Tuesday morning on Haw Lane (between Ashton, Spencerville, and Burtonsville). According to Chief Spokesperson for MCFRS Pete Piringer, an occupant of the home witnessed a tree coming down on power lines, which caused a transformer to blow. They then notified the power company and minutes later saw smoke coming from the basement. The fire then vented out of a basement window of the home which ignited a propane/oil tank.
All occupants were able to make it out of the home and there were no injuries reported. One family (3 adults) has been displaced. Howard Co Fire & EMS assisted. Per @mfrsPIO on Twitter, “Origin/Cause, electrical in nature, tree pulled wires down (outside), combustibles in basement ignited (likely power surge) Damage ~$260K.”