Woman may have tried to save cats from burning home before she died, officials say

A Montgomery County neighborhood is coming together in grief after an early morning house fire killed a woman and sent her brother to the hospital.

An adult brother and sister were inside a home in the 4700 block of Merivale Road in Chevy Chase when it caught fire about 5:45 a.m.

Both siblings initially got out alive, but it appears the sister may have gone back to try to save cats inside the home, according to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service (MCFRS) officials.

The fire was so large that 80 firefighters had to help put it out. Thick black smoke could be seen billowing from the windows as firefighters raced against time to try to save the woman inside the house.

They later found her body on the stairs to the second floor. Officials have not yet released her name.

The woman’s brother was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. A firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion but is expected to be OK.

“The layout of the house was challenging for firefighters,” Pete Piringer of MCFRS said. “It was a pretty significant fire, obviously; likely it had been burning for awhile.”

One cat was found dead, but someone spotted a second cat coming out of the house hours after the blaze, Piringer said. No one was able to catch it, but cleanup crews were looking for it outside.

The initial cause of the fire is still unclear, but investigators believe it may have started in the basement. The fire department said lithium ion batteries in the garage made fighting the flames even tougher.

Residents said their neighborhood is an extremely close-knit community, and they’re now trying to support the family.

“It’s just a tragedy and a shock to hear of something like this. I’m very, very sorry to hear that someone passed away as a result,” neighbor Allison Fultz said.

“The tone, as you might imagine, in the neighborhood is just deep sadness,” another neighbor said.

Neighbors say the family who owns the house had lived here for years. They said the woman who died had enjoyed passing out candy at Halloween.

They said they’re working on a list of things that need to be done to help the family.

“This is such a tight-knit neighborhood and people help each other out when stuff like this happens,” a neighbor said.