At least 6 injured in predawn fire at Maryland highrise | CNN

CNN
 — 

At least six people were injured – one critically – during a fire early Saturday that left some residents trapped on balconies of a highrise apartment building in Silver Spring, Maryland, a fire official says.

The three-alarm fire, with more than 100 firefighters responding, broke out about 6 a.m. on the seventh floor of the high-rise just north of Washington, DC, said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service.

Heavy smoke prevented some residents from leaving their apartments, forcing a number of them to wait for rescuers on their balconies in the subfreezing temperatures, Piringer said. Others, without balconies, were trapped in their apartments until rescuers arrived.

“We did get numerous phone calls indicating people were trapped,” the spokesman said.

Images from the scene showed flames emerging from windows in the middle of the building in the predawn hours.

The fire was under control just after 8 a.m., Piringer said.

Six people were taken to the hospital, Piringer said. One was in critical condition. At least two firefighters sustained minor injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is a developing story and will be updated.