A woman is dead and a man was taken to a hospital after a fire broke out in their Bethesda, Maryland, home early Wednesday morning, according to officials.
Montgomery County firefighters arrived at the 9100 block of Charred Oak Drive at about 1 a.m. after a neighbor who lives next door called 911, reporting a fire.
“It was an inferno,” Carolyn Hyde, the neighbor, told News4. “I called 911 immediately. They asked a million questions and I’m just like, ‘You need to get every truck you can out here’.”
When firefighters arrived, the fire had spread throughout the two-story home and the house was heavily damaged, according to the fire department’s chief spokesperson Pete Piringer. Officials say about 70 firefighters were on the scene.
Firefighters were able to find the man inside the home quickly, according to chief spokesperson Pete Piringer. The man was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition.
A firefighter was injured and also taken to a nearby hospital.
About 30 to 40 minutes later in a “very aggressive and exhaustive search,” firefighters found the woman on the first floor, according to Piringer. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Neighbors across the street said the fire burned so high that they were concerned it would spread.
“That was a huge concern in the moment and I don’t think until you saw it could you fully appreciate how big and unruly it was,” another neighbor said. “So grateful to the fire department.”
Piringer said the man and woman were long-time residents in the neighborhood. Hyde said the couple was older and had trouble walking.
“Sue was walking with a walker and Wayne was in a wheelchair,” Hyde said.
Officials are investigating the cause of the fire.
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