UPDATE: Stedwick Home's Second Floor Turned to Cinder

UPDATE 9:50 p.m. Nov. 2 -- Montgomery County fire officials have traced the start of today's fire in Stedwick to the rear of the townhouse's second floor.

The cause is still under investigation, but investigators have ruled out foul play or a link to the renovations being done by the family that had bought the house last week, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

Garcia put the fire's damage at $110,000.

Also, the house next door has been deemed unsafe to occupy until it can be evaluated by structural and electrical inspectors, Garcia said.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE 4:20 p.m. Nov. 2 -- Fire scorched through the roof and walls of a Stedwick home on Wednesday afternoon, charring out the second floor of the end-unit townhouse in front of Stedwick Elementary School.

The townhome next door is also being assessed for possible condemnation, officials said.

More than 40 firefighters responded to the 19500 block of Burlingame Way at around 1 p.m., bringing the blaze under control within 20 minutes—though firefighters continued to battle hot spots on the second floor and in the walls, said Capt. Oscar Garcia, spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

No injuries were reported.

Daniel and Angelica Moreno and their 3-year-old daughter bought the house last week and started moving into the home in the Clusters III neighborhood on Sunday. The second floor was mostly empty while they completed renovations, they said as they watched fire crews pick through the cinders a few yards away.

Daniel Moreno was doing work inside the house when he caught the first whiffs of smoke, he said.

"And some neighbor came into the house and said, ‘Hey, your roof is on fire!'" he said.

He rushed outside and called 9-1-1. His wife and daughter were not home at the time.

Investigators, health inspectors and insurance agents were on the scene past 3 p.m. while fire crews gutted out the upstairs and assessed the damage.

“We have no idea what happened,” Angelica Moreno said.

Investigators had not determined the cause as of 4 p.m.