Firefighters extinguish 2-alarm blaze in Bethesda high-rise apartment building

BETHESDA, Md. — Nearly 100 firefighters were called to a high-rise apartment fire in Bethesda late Tuesday night. While everyone was able to get out of the building safely, firefighters noted that the 18-story building did not have a sprinkler system. 

Montgomery County firefighters were dispatched to the Promenade Towers apartments at 5225 Pooks Hill Road for a high-rise building fire around 11:20 p.m. When crews arrived on scene, they found heavy smoke coming from a sixth floor apartment and called a second alarm, which brought more firefighters to help.

Firefighters believe the fire was accidental in nature and started in a highway closet. Crews were able to get the fire under control and extinguished quickly. No injuries were reported. It is not clear how many people are without a place to live following the fire.

According to a spokesperson for the fire department, the blaze caused more than $1 million in damage. 

The Promenade Towers apartments is one of dozens of apartment buildings in Montgomery County that has not been retrofitted with sprinkler systems following a law requiring them in all high-rise buildings buildings by 2033. 

The Melanie Nicholle Diaz Fire Safety Act was signed into law last month. It's named after a 25-year-old woman who died from smoke inhalation on Feb. 18, 2023 as she was rescuing her two dogs from the fire at the Arrive Silver Spring Apartments. 

An investigation into the incident never provided a cause for the fire, but it did determine that the absence of a functioning smoke alarm system and the lack of a sprinkler system contributed to the magnitude of the blaze.

Since the loss of his daughter, her father Cesar Diaz has made it his purpose to pass fire safety legislation in Maryland. 

The Promenade Towers building is one of roughly 80 buildings in Montgomery County that had not been retrofitted yet.