Story by PETE PIRINGER
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service
Photos by TOM WHORTON
& JEFF PURCELL

Around 2;30 p.m. on Monday October 28, 2002 units from the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service rsponded to report of a house fire in the 200 block of Jay Drive, in the Fallsgrove neighborhood of Rockville, Maryland.

First arriving units encountered a large single-family house "fully involved" with exposure fires.

The house was under construction and was about 80% complete.

A Safety dispatch and Second Alarm were dispatched.

Units and personnel from Rockville, Gaithersburg, NIST, Cabin John Park, Bethesda, Kensington and surrounding areas responded.

There were no injuries.

The intense heat from the fire caused a neighboring house to catch on fire.

Additionally, three houses to the rear and one across a vacant side lot were damaged by the extreme heat. A condo and townhouse across the street also recieved some heat damage.

A construction worker rescued a dog from the burning neighbor's house.

Fire Investigators believe there was a delay in notification of fire department and the most probable cause was improperly discarded smoking materials.

Total loss is estimated to be in excess of $1 million dollars.