Apartment Building Explosion, Top Maryland High Schools, Officer Hit by Car: News Nearby

Patch has community sites across Maryland. Here are some of the top posts from the past 24 hours.

• Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools 2016: 11 Maryland Schools Among Best
• Feds OK Ellicott City Disaster Declaration Request
• Officer Hit by Vehicle While Responding to Crash

Apartment Explosion: 2 Dead, Dozens Injured, Five Missing

A massive explosion and fire tore through a Silver Spring apartment complex overnight, leaving buildings in rubble and killing at least two people. Up to five people were still missing Thursday afternoon. "I think I lost a friend," said William Callejos, who said a man he called Olsa, about 60 years old, is missing.

Other residents were recovering from broken bones and other injuries suffered during the building collapse and when they jumped from upper floors. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Goldstein said investigators are working to determine if the fire or the explosion came first at the Flower Branch Apartments.>>> Read more.

How to Help Victims of Maryland Apartment Fire

As family members without phones, money or anything but the clothes on their backs grapple with the devastation of a fatal apartment fire, neighbors and strangers are asking how they can help in the recovery. >>> Read more.

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