Park Police: Potomac playground fire caused around $1M in damage

Makea Luzader
·2 min read
4

POTOMAC, Md. (DC News Now) — Fire officials said that a playground at Greenbriar Local Park was set on fire Tuesday evening.

Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service (MCFRS) Public Information Officer Pete Piringer said that Park Police and MCFRS were investigating the fire.

The fire happened at the park on Glen Road around 10 p.m.

The Maryland-National Capital Park Police said in a release that the fire caused around $1 million worth of damage. It is being investigated as an arson.

“It’s a shame because it’s a useless crime,” said Lt. Charles Smith. “This equipment is for kids. We want to put nice amenities in these parks for people to come and enjoy.”

Smith said Park Police regularly patrol the area in order to keep it safe for kids and families.

Despite the crime, he maintains it is a safe area to be in.

“This is an unfortunate crime. We don’t see this often,” he said. “In my tenure, I’ve never dealt with something with this extension damage like this. Arson is a very rare, rare crime.”

“I can’t believe someone would do this,” said Reggie Chambers, who comes to the park with his family often. “It’s a place where a lot of families come and it’s constantly families here. So I can’t believe someone would destroy something like this, a park that’s nice.”

He said the person or people responsible should turn themselves in and be held accountable for their actions.

“You really need to pay for it, be remorseful, do community service because that’s a lot of damage,” said Chambers.

Meanwhile, the Remmouche family hopes the playground will be rebuilt quickly.

“I think the kids will miss it. And like I said, the kids come and play, we do walk around the park. And I think it has more than one activity. We’re upset, hopefully we can fix it,” said Merouan Remmouche, whose daughter Emma plays on the playground regularly.

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In a post on Thursday morning, Piringer said that it was still an open and active investigation. Anyone with any information should call the MCFRS arson tipline at 240-777-2263 or Park Police at 301-949-8010.

Park Police said that the playground will be closed until further notice. Another playground at the park for children ages 2 to 5 was not damaged and is still open.

Officials said that the playgrounds were part of a park renovation in 2016.

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