John Matthews
BRANDYWINE, MD — (WMAL) Four townhomes were destroyed when fire ripped through an entire row of them in a neighborhood on Chaddsford Drive in Brandywine early Thursday morning.
Flames were already rushing through the rooftops by the time firefighters arrived at around 4 am.
Efforts to fight the fire were hampered when the first hydrant that crews hooked up to turned out to be broken.
No one was injured in the three-alarm fire, but two units were damaged in addition to the four that were a total loss.
About 25 people were displaced by the incident. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire came during a red flag warning – a time when meteorologists say conditions are ripe for fire, with low humidity and heavy breezes.
In fact, trains on Maryland’s MARC commuter rail are severely hampered Thursday morning due to brush fires near the tracks.
Copyright 2015 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Prince George’s Co. Fire Dept.)
