Just as it had before a fire Friday morning destroyed it, the Little Free Library drew neighbors to the corner Albemarle Street and Tournay Road in Bethesda that afternoon to lament the loss of a community fixture.
“Having the Little Free Library is such an asset to the community, so hopefully we’ll be able to rebuild it soon,” Erin Harcourt, a neighborhood resident, said Friday.
A little comfort, however, was found in a hand-written note taped to the remains: “This was not vandalism solar panel caught fire.”
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews were dispatched to the area of Albemarle Street and Tournay Road at 6:17 a.m. for the report of “the pop-up book stand on fire,” according to emergency radio transmissions. By the time the fire was discovered by a neighbor and MCFRS was called, the structure had already sustained significant damage. All of the books inside were destroyed.
MCFRS and Montgomery County police did not return Bethesda Today’s emails Friday afternoon requesting verification that the fire was not being investigated as arson…