Incense ashes improperly discarded in a potted plant sparked an apartment fire in Rockville that injured a maintenance worker, displaced 12 residents and caused an estimated $2 million in damage, Maryland fire officials said.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue crews were called to the Miramont apartments off East Jefferson Street shortly before midnight Wednesday.
Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames coming from a second-floor apartment in a four-story building. The fire spread to the floor above before crews were able to bring it under control.
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More than 75 firefighters responded.
A maintenance worker suffered smoke inhalation while going through the building and alerting residents to the fire, according to officials. The worker was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
No one was in the apartment when the fire broke out, officials said, and no building residents were reported injured.
Fire officials said the building was not equipped with a sprinkler system.