At 4:50 in the morning of June 1, box 10-06 was struck for the reported building fire at 12627 Laurel-Bowie Road. Arriving companies encountered what was initially reported as a small fire in the kitchen, but were quickly proven wrong - heavy smoke bellowed from the Irish Pub, as well as from the adjacent Dollar Paradise dollar store. As companies prepared for the firefight, fire lashed in an explosion (possibly a flashover) out of the front of the store and enveloped several firefighters. None were reportedly injured as a result of this particular moment.
One firefighter was unaccounted for after the evacuation tones were sounded; however, he was accounted for shortly afterwards. Additionally, one member of Company 49 (Laurel Rescue Squad) was transported to Washington Hospital Center's MedStar burn unit by Ambulance 496 for minor burns to the neck, as per policy.
The roof of at least one of the stores collapsed during the initial operations, and the roof of the Irish Pub collapsed after the bulk of the fire had been knocked down; presumably, due to the weight of the water that was flowing into the building and onto the roof.
The Irish Pub, Dollar Paradise and the adjacent Chinese restaurant were all posted as unsafe to be occupied.
Division Chief #2, the Northern Operations Commander, held the Laurel Command. 84 firefighters and 52 pieces of apparatus operated on the fireground for over 1.5 hours, and the bulk of the fire was declared to be knocked down in just over one hour, at 5:59AM. The cause of the fire is under investigation by PGFD investigators.