BURTONSVILLE, Md. – Firefighters rescued eight people from balconies of a three-story apartment building Friday morning as fire destroyed 12 units at Woodlake Apartments.

Timothy Chisley, who lives in the apartments in the 14000 block of Castle Boulevard off Briggs Chainey Road, says he felt helpless as he watched flames shooting from the building and friends standing on their balconies, waiting to be rescued.

“I was terrified. It seemed like a scene out of a movie,” Chisley said.

“I felt bad on the inside because I couldn’t help.”

The fire, reported at 7:30 a.m., started at the rear of a townhouse and spread to the apartments. About 100 firefighters responded.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Scott Graham says the injuries residents sustained amounted to bumps, scrapes and bruises.

Thirty-three people have been displaced.

The cause remains under investigation.

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