Firefighters extinguish two-alarm fire on roof at Lincoln College of Technology in Columbia

A two-alarm fire broke out on the roof at the Lincoln College of Technology in East Columbia on Sunday, fire officials said.

Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services spokesman Lt. Adam Nolder said that just before 4 p.m. the department received several 911 calls about smoke showing from the college at 9325 Snowden River Parkway. When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy black smoke coming from the roof.

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Firefighters work to put out a two alarm fire located in the roofing system at Lincoln Technical Institute in Columbia, Maryland. (Kevin Richardson/Baltimore Sun)

Nolder said firefighters learned that the fire was burning in the roofing system between the roof and solar panels. The fire remained only in the roofing system, the spokesman said, never making its way into any classrooms.

No injuries were reported and the college was not open at the time of the fire, Nolder said.

Battling the blaze was “very labor-intensive,” Nolder said, as firefighters had to use hand tools to remove roofing layers. Firefighters from Prince George’s and Montgomery counties helped respond to the fire. By 6 p.m., the fire was extinguished.