Fire Damages Rockville Day Care, Swim Center

Georgetown Hill Early School and Woodley Gardens Swim Club in Rockville caught fire Sunday, causing the daycare center to close Monday.

After the fire, Peter Cromwell, CEO of Georgetown Hill, posted a comment to Georgetown Hill’s Facebook page. He said the damage to the buildings were “significant.”

“At this time, we do not know the cause of the fire or the extent of damage, but it does appear to be significant,” said Cromwell.

According to Pete Piringer, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue spokesperson, officers responded to the fire at 8:15 p.m. on Sunday.

At the time of the fire, no one was inside the building, and nobody was injured. Piringer said the fire originated “in the area of the school administration building.”

Overall, Piringer says the fire caused $750,000 worth of damage: $500,000 to the building, and $250,000 to the content of the building.

Update – 850 Nelson St, Rockville, Woodley Gardens Swim Club/ Georgetown Hill Early School; Cause, under investigation; Damage, total >$750K incl >$500K bldg, >$250K contents; commercial auto fire alarm; area of origin, school admin area; 2-Alarm w/ ~100 FFs on scene pic.twitter.com/YnjqtTrmRs

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 28, 2019

Piringer says that two alarms were sounded because of the fire, so over 100 firefighters responded to the scene.

“They made an aggressive attack on the fire, however, there was a partial roof collapse,” said Piringer.

As the cause of the fire continues to be investigated, and the buildings are repaired, Cromwell said on Facebook that Georgetown Hill will serve its Rockville families at the Montgomery Square location at 12300 Falls Road.

Cromwell said, “As you discuss this with your children, please emphasize that no one was hurt and that our fire fighters, police officers and other community helpers responded quickly and have done a great job keeping everyone safe. We will celebrate them as we move forward.”

Update (~815p 1/27) 2-Alarm structure fire, Woolley Gardens Swim Club & Georgetown Hill Early School (daycare) 850 Nelson St, Rockville pic.twitter.com/BYv9zuI6RE

— Pete Piringer (@mcfrsPIO) January 28, 2019

About Deirdre Byrne

Deirdre Byrne is a social media coordinator for Montgomery Community Media. She can be reached at dbyrne@mymcmedia.org or on twitter at @DeirdreByrneMCM.

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