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All that remained this morning of the historic Chestnut Lodge, the former Victorian-era Woodlawn Hotel that later became a world-renowned sanitarium in Rockville, is smoke and charred rubble after a fire that officials are calling suspicious tore through the building early Sunday.

The building at 500 West Montgomery Ave. has been unoccupied for several years as a developer was planning to turn the structure into high-end condominiums.

When authorities were called to the scene around 3 a.m. Sunday, the six-story building was fully engulfed in flames, said Kenneth I. Korenblatt, battalion chief for the Montgomery County Fire and Explosive Investigations Bomb Squad.

It took at least four hours and approximately 95 firefighters to extinguish the two-alarm fire, Korenblatt said. The roof collapsed into the basement about a half hour into putting out the blaze.

Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the county Fire and Rescue Service, said firefighters did not enter the building and there were no injuries. He could not estimate how much damage had been caused to the building in terms of a dollar amount.

"It's priceless," he said.

Demolition crews were out early this morning knocking down the building piece by piece. Piringer said fire officials would sift through the debris for clues on what caused the fire and planned to canvass neighbors on whether they saw or heard anything at the time the fire broke out.

"We understand and respect the significance of a historic building like this burning down," Korenblatt said. "It's our understanding that the building had been vacant for, like, five years — no power, no gas and no water to it. So that in itself lends us to believe that the fire is suspicious in some nature and we're bringing out all of our manpower and personnel to investigate the fire."

The developers of the property said they were shocked by the news of the fire.

"It's an absolute tragedy," said Timothy Doyle, president of Chestnut Lodge Properties Inc., a division of Chase Communities of Rockville, which is developing the site.

The company has been working on plans and approvals for nearly five years, said Rob Baker, vice president of Chestnut Lodge Properties.

"When you put that much time and effort and money into it, it becomes a part of your life," he said.

Baker said the property represents "a lot of things to us and the community."

"A lot of people came out yesterday to say goodbye to a dear friend," he added.

Officials at Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd., the organization that has championed the historic value of Chestnut Lodge for decades, could not be reached for comment.

Several county residents, including some from outside of Rockville, stopped by this morning to get a look at the building before it gets completely torn down. The smell of smoke still hung in the air.

"It was nice to have such a great piece of history here," said Stephanie Smith, who lives a few blocks away. "It's horrible what happened. It's such a pretty building and I was looking forward to seeing what they were going to do with the luxury condos they planned to build here."

Chestnut Lodge, built in the late 1800s, was a luxury hotel that remained open for less than 20 years before it was purchased by Dr. Dexter Bullard, who turned it into a private sanatorium. The property remained a private hospital for many decades and then changed hands a few times until it was bought by Chase Communities, who is converting the site into housing units.

Barbara and Robert Craig, who live across from Chestnut Lodge on Thomas Street, said the view from their window will now be forever changed. They were awoken by their dogs barking early Sunday morning and were "shocked" to see the building ablaze.

"It's so sad," Barbara Craig said. "I felt numb when I saw the flames. I just couldn't fathom it even though it was burning right there in front of my eyes."