Takoma Park apartment fire displaces seven, causes $90,000 in damage

Seven residents were displaced and a mattress fire caused an estimated $90,000 in damage at Birchwood Apartments in Takoma Park after an occupant was smoking while removing nail polish, Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service said.

Crews responded around 12:20 p.m. Thursday, April 9, to the 600 block of Houston Avenue, where investigators said the fire began on a bed when the fumes or bottle ignited. The flames spread to the mattress before firefighters brought the blaze under control. No injuries were reported.

Officials said there was a delay in calling 911 because the occupant initially tried to put out the fire themselves. The fire is a reminder of how quickly ordinary household items can turn dangerous in crowded apartment settings, especially when smoking materials are near flammable liquids or fumes.

The building, Birchwood Apartments at 636 Houston Ave., is a multifamily complex in Takoma Park, where renters who lose housing to fire may need immediate help with relocation, insurance and tenancy issues. City materials say Takoma Park provides tenant-displacement resources for people affected by fire or other events, and its renter-assistance program offers a one-time rebate to eligible low-income renters who buy at least six months of renters’ insurance.

Takoma Park materials define tenant displacement as vacating a unit that has been condemned as unfit for human habitation, with the removal temporary or permanent depending on how long the unit remains uninhabitable. The city’s Housing and Community Development Department and the Takoma Park Commission on Landlord-Tenant Affairs are among the local offices tied to those resources.

The apartment fire also follows another Takoma Park building blaze in January 2025 in which one man suffered life-threatening injuries, underscoring how apartment fires can quickly become housing crises as well as safety emergencies.