On Mar. 5, students rushed out of classes and walked to parked cars and buses, talking to classmates, planning after-school meetups with friends or taking the rest of the day to finish essays, study for upcoming tests and submit online assignments. On the way home in car seats and bus rows, students realized that something didn’t seem right.
Thick clouds of black smoke in the sky danced and wafted through Montgomery County neighborhoods, which students later discovered were coming from the Rockville Quarry, located on Piney Meetinghouse Road.
The fire, which started before noon, was caused by three oil tanks that caught on fire, two filled with liquid asphalt and one filled with motor oil. According to CBS News, the cause of the fire is still unknown, but officials advised Rockville residents to limit outdoor time and be cautious of air quality, which was monitored after reports of the smoke were made.
Freshman Gabi Estrada remembers seeing the smoke through her car window on her way back home and being alarmed by how much smoke was in the sky.
There was just so much dark smoke, and it was really scary. I thought something bad had happened. Then my mom told me it was just a fire or something that had happened at the quarry, and I felt a lot better,”
— Gabi Estrada
For students who deal with breathing problems like asthma, the fire caused students shortness of breath, slight wheezing, and teary eyes, even miles away from the quarry.
Freshman Edlawit Abebe, who has always dealt with asthma and breathing problems, noticed that shortly after finding out about the fire she began to experience symptoms of decreased air quality in the area. “I remember after my mom told me what had happened in the car, and that there was a fire, I kind of felt relieved because the smoke was so severe, and it looked like something way worse had happened.”
Abebe also realized that since the afternoon, she had been having difficulty breathing as clearly as she usually does. “That’s when I noticed that I was wheezing a little bit, and my eyes were tearing up. It was like that for the rest of the day, so I made sure to close my windows,” Abebe said.
The Daily Record stated that during a conference, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesperson Pete Piringer explained that the fire was contained and all workers who were near the site of the fire were evacuated. Piringer also added that no injuries have been reported.
