BELTSVILLE, Md -- Firefighters from two counties responded Tuesday morning to a fire at the Paint Branch Montessori School, in Beltsville, Md.

Images From The Scene

Fire officials say the blaze, which started about 5:30 a.m., heavily damaged the school and it's unclear when the students will be able to return.

Mark Brady, spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire and Rescue Department, said when firefighters arrived, flames were shooting through the roof.

Later, staff members arrived at the school to inspect the damage. "I just thought of the kids, about what's going to happen," said the school's director, Manjip Singh.

She said the damage is extensive and that school supplies and books were lost in the flames.

"It's a Montessori school, so it's all hands on. It's a lot of material that is in there and the school can't function without the materials," Singh said.

The school, located in the 3200 block of Powder Mill Road, is physically connected to the Paint Branch Unitarian Universalist Church.

Singh told News4 the school has 65 students. She said at least one of the classrooms was destroyed and several others were severely damaged. Two classroom pets, a fish and a hermit crab, were rescued.

Fire investigators are working to find the cause of the fire and they have yet to release a damage estimate.

The school and the church are connected by an underground corridor and a fire spokesman said smoke did travel through the corridor, but it only caused minor smoke damage to the church.