Fire Breaks Out in Leisure World High Rise

Montgomery County Fire Department responded to a call at 2:55 p.m today at 15107 Interlachen Dr, a high-rise at Leisure World .

"As we entered the building we saw smoke the first floor," Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesperson for the fire department said, "There was a lot of smoke coming from the apartment and the hallway, but the sprinklers had turned on and controlled the fire."

According to Garcia, there were reports of fire in both a utility closet and and the bathroom of the apartment, but it was under investigation where the fire had started. 

A second alarm was called for "precautionary backup" and resulted in 70 firefighters responding to the fire. The fire was extinguished shortly after 3 p.m.

Fire and Rescue is also investigating what started a fire on a second floor balcony in King Farm earlier Wednesday.

About noon, drivers on Route 355 reported seeing smoke coming from one of the apartment buildings that backs on to the road.

When firefighters arrived on the scene in the 600 block of Elmcroft Boulevard, the fire had gone out, Garcia said.

Firefighters removed siding to prevent the fire from reigniting, he said. They have yet to determine the cause of the fire.