2-alarm fire at elementary school scheduled for demolition rages through night

SILVER SPRING, Md. — A massive fire has been raging at a vacant elementary school in Silver Spring since 9 p.m. Tuesday night. 

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue responded to a two-alarm fire at JoAnn Leleck Elementary School at Broad Acres on the 700 block of Beacon Road Tuesday night. As of 6:04 a.m. Wednesday morning, the fire is still burning.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire was venting from the roof. Fire department spokesman Pete Piringer said the fire was difficult to access. At midnight, Piringer said the bulk of the fire had been contained but that fire seemed to be burning in concealed and void spaces. 

The unoccupied elementary school is under construction and is scheduled for demolition, according to Piringer. The area is fenced off.

Approximately 75 firefighters have responded to the scene since the initial dispatch at 9 p.m. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.