News

Actions

6th body recovered from Silver Spring fire

Missing person located unharmed
Posted
and last updated

A sixth body was recovered Monday from an apartment fire in Silver Spring, Montgomery County Police said.

Police haven't identified the six victims.  The bodies have been transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for autopsy and possible identification, police said.

Police also confirmed that one of the missing people, Oscar Armando Ochoa, was not in the apartments at the time of the fire and is unharmed. 

The explosion late Wednesday night at the Flower Branch apartment complex shook buildings more than a mile away and sent debris flying a hundred yards.

Residents of the two buildings that were destroyed are working on regaining a sense of normalcy.

"We know a lot of people are back at work today and we are trying to help them and organize placement opportunities," Geoff DeLizzio, Chief Operating Officer for the Red Cross, said.

About 50 people slept at the Long Branch Community Center Sunday night. DeLizzio said more than 200 people registered with the shelter since the disaster.

One of those people is Isaiah Fuentes, 23, who lived with his three brothers in an apartment. He said their apartment is intact but they can't get to it because of the dangerous conditions.

"We miss everything... wallet, cell phone, the keys to our car," Fuentes said it's also difficult living in a shelter as there are no comforts of home.

Fuentes and his brothers work in construction, but they haven't gone back since the disaster. "The police, they come to ask you more questions every day," saying they have to be at the shelter to help with the investigation.

He's now concerned about his job security.

There are many people coming out of the woodwork to help people like Fuentes. Santiago Albarado came to the shelter Monday afternoon looking to donate $100.

He told ABC2 in Spanish, "We are all human. There is no color. We are all human and we all feel." He has worked at McDonald's cleaning tables for the past 15 years and said everyone needs to do their part during this tragedy.

Crews are digging through the rubble with shovels, and in masks, working to find the last body and find out what caused this explosion.

Officials at the shelter are working to find a more long term location for the misplaced, saying they may never be able to live in the building again.

At 6 p.m. Monday, the Red Cross and Montgomery County officials are hosting a meeting at the Long Branch Community Center, to talk with residents about their housing plan for the misplaced.

RELATED: Additional deaths expected in Silver Spring apartment fire

Download the ABC2 News app for the iPhone, Kindle and Android.