The Georgia Avenue incident in Montgomery County.

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

A rush of water under the Wheaton Safeway ripped through the building’s electrical system Wednesday, knocking out power, flooding the basement, and forcing more than 1,000 residents from their homes.

What started as a routine service call on Georgia Avenue in Montgomery County turned into a massive all-day emergency Dec. 3, when a major water break flooded the building’s underground electrical and mechanical rooms, killed power to two high-rises, shut down the grocery store, and forced Montgomery County officials to condemn the entire complex, displacing hundreds.

Fire officials first reported trouble just after noon at the Safeway near Reedie Drive. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue units found “five feet of water in [the] basement” at 11201 Georgia Avenue, with power to the building cut as a safety measure, Pete Piringer said Wednesday.

Crews quickly realized the situation was spreading far beyond a store. 

Traffic lights at the Georgia Avenue corridor went dark. Lanes shut down. A spreading outage hit multiple large buildings, including 11215 Georgia Ave., and police directed drivers through the intersection as utility crews rushed in.

According to Piringer, the problem was centered deep below the Safeway and Arrive Wheaton Apartments. 

The water break poured into the sub-basement and electrical systems, filling a “large room/area” with an estimated “300,000 gallons of water.” Photos taken at the scene showed the building’s main electrical room underwater behind steel doors, with pumps and generators hauled into the garage to start draining it.

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By midafternoon, Piringer warned that “Safeway grocery store and potentially (1,000) resident/occupants (were) impacted,” and the county began preparing for longer-term fallout. 

Ready Montgomery, Emergency Management, and county housing officials responded to begin coordinating shelter and support for hundreds of displaced families.

As crews pumped out floodwater, the damage became clearer. 

The water reached critical utility rooms, mechanical systems, and electrical infrastructure that serve the entire tower. The county’s building inspector and emergency management teams arrived to assess the structure while crews continued “de-watering.”

Just before 6 p.m., the situation took a major turn.

The 11200 block building was officially “posted unsafe to occupy (condemned),” Piringer announced. Roughly “500 units and 1,000 people” were affected.

Residents were told they could not return to their apartments. Safeway remained closed. Georgia Avenue stayed partially shut down. Pumps continued running in the garage late into the evening as agencies worked on relocation plans.

Officials said work to stabilize the building and repair the damage will continue into the night.