Results tagged “fire>”

A total of 15 people have been displaced by a house fire that broke out just before noon today at 1408 30th Street SE, according to D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer. The nine adults, six children and various pets who lived in the detached single-family home in the Fort Dupont neighborhood of Southeast D.C. are unable to return home due to significant smoke and fire damage. Firefighters believe the blaze started in the basement, but the cause of the fire is under investigation, Piringer said. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.

A fire broke out on the roof of Kelly's Irish Times pub at a little after 4:30 p.m. this afternoon, according to D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer. The bar, located near Union Station at 14 F Street NW, was evacuated while D.C. firefighters worked to get the blaze under control. Crews are still on the scene working to make sure the fire is completely out and did not extend anywhere else, Piringer said.

A elderly man was rescued from an apartment fire in Glover Park earlier this morning. The fire broke out at around 10 a.m. in a first floor unit of a three-story apartment building at 2316 40th Place NW. D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer said firefighters pulled the unconscious man, who is approximately 70 years-old, out of the apartment under pretty heavy smoke conditions. Rescue workers successfully resuscitated the man and he was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition. The fire, which has since been knocked down, is said to have caused significant damage, but was apparently confined to the one apartment.

A house fire in the 3000 block of O Street NW claimed the life of an elderly woman on Friday evening, as the Post reports. Former Nathan's proprietor Carol Joynt has photos and a remembrance up on her web site, noting that few neighbors knew the woman's name even though she had lived on the block for so many years. "It struck us dumb that her home was in the middle of our block, we saw her occasionally, we knew she was elderly, virtually a shut in, seemingly eccentric, but we didn’t know her name, or of her family or anything about her that could help the investigators. It was the saddest component of a catastrophically sad day."

There have been three trash receptacle fires in the last four weeks in the same alley behind a section of 3rd Street SE, WJLA reports. A string of fires like that in the same location makes it tough to speculate that a carelessly tossed cigarette butt might be to blame; odds are some pyro is setting the bins ablaze. So far, no buildings have become victims of the flames, but residents over there are understandably a bit freaked that eventually, one of these fires can and will spread. Fire officials are investigating, and asking the public to keep an eye out. Trash can and dumpster fires are no joke, folks.

DC WASA and the D.C. Fire & EMS Department provided Mayor Fenty's office with a list of potential trouble spots for water-related firefighting issues in the wake of the big fire at Peggy Cooper Cafritz's house, and WUSA9 has a copy. Among the reasons given why an area might be listed are "small water mains, hydrant configuration, topography, access, and the possibility of private hydrants not regulated by WASA." Fire Department spokesperson Pete Piringer is also quoted urging residents not to panic if your neighborhood or building is on the list. "He says the fire department has put plans in place to make sure there is an adequate water supply to fight fires." Recent evidence notwithstanding, apparently. Full list after the jump.

We're working on a Snake Theme here, people. WTOP's Hank Silverberg reports that a house fire in Fairfax County has claimed the lives of dozens of snakes, scorpions, and lizards that were trapped inside cages in the attic when the fire broke out. Resident Zachary Frodge had been breeding the animals, which included "non-poisonous ball pythons, corn snakes, rat snakes, Columbia red tail boa constrictors, bearded dragons and a green iguana," for sale. No humans were injured in the blaze, though the house, which is in the Alexandria section of the County, was pretty badly damaged.

D.C. Fire and EMS responded to a call about a possible explosion at Union Station at about 11:45 a.m. FEMS units are on scene investigating, but have yet to determine whether an explosion took place.

A fire broke out in a second floor classroom at Anacostia Senior High School, located at 1601 16th Street SE, this morning.

Renovations at the Georgetown Neighborhood Library branch are now underway, as We Love D.C. noted yesterday, so we checked in with folks at the D.C. Public Library to see how things are coming along.

DCist is receiving reports of a fire on Irving Street near Columbia Road NW, near the Highland Park Residential Building. A staffer at Commonwealth Gastro Pub, which is housed in the building, said that an HVAC unit had caught fire. One correspondent said that he was forced to divert from his route down Irving due to all the smoke from the fire, which drew several firetrucks. Emergency officials evacuated the Highland Park building and its restaurants (including Commonwealth and Pete's Apizza). Staff at both expected that they would reopen before the start of the evening.

       

Eastern Market is officially set to reopen to the public on June 26, a little over two years after it was gutted by a devastating fire. Lucky dog Flickr contributor erin_m, aka local photog Erin McCann, who has been documenting the market's progress since the fire, managed to get a look inside the building on Monday night as crews work to put the finishing touches in before next Friday. She's posted her entire photo set here. Erin writes:

A very, very nice security guard gave me a tour of the rebuilt Eastern Market tonight.

Continue reading "Sneak Peek at Eastern Market Renovations"

D.C. Fire/EMS is reporting an apartment fire on the first floor of a residential building at 253 V Street NW. Streets in the surrounding area, including V Street, 2nd St. NW, and 3rd St. NW are currently blocked off as firefighters work to control the blaze. At least one adult female is being treated for minor smoke inhalation.

D.C. Fire/EMS is reporting an explosion at a Southeast D.C. home this afternoon that critically injured at least one person. It's looking like a propane tank exploded inside the basement of a house at 1127 46th Street SE. FOX5 is reporting that a 49-year-old man who was inside the home is in critical condition after suffering second and third-degree burns from the explosion and subsequent fire. Fire crews remain on the scene, and there's some concern that the house could collapse.

We got several tips about a car catching fire on 17th Street NW near K, right by Farragut Square a little while ago. Reader Brett Andriesen was kind enough to send in this image from his phone - looks like the fire department already has the situation under control. Hope that wasn't your green SUV (looks like an Explorer maybe?).

We received several reports of a booming, explosion-like noise coming from a parking garage near 16th and L Streets NW just before 11:30 a.m. D.C. Fire/EMS spokesperson Alan Etter tells us that the fire department responded to what turned out to be an electrical failure with some Pepco equipment, possibly a transformer, at that location. No visible fire resulted from the short circuit, but we did hear some smoke was visible in the area immediately after the booming noise. Etter described the incident as "not a big deal."

Mark your calendars, Washington. Eastern Market's official reopening has been set for June 26, as D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced yesterday. It's been a little over two years since the historic building was ravaged by fire. A temporary structure was eventually built to house the market's vendors while a $22 million renovation project began on the building itself.

   

A truck caught fire earlier this morning at 12th and P Streets NW, eventually leading to a small explosion as the gas tank succumbed to the flames. The truck was a rambling pickup that, along with its bed full of scrap wood, has been a neighborhood fixture for years. The single bike cop on the scene kept onlookers from walking down P and waited for the fire department as the fire spread from beneath the hood to envelope the cab and front tires. Eventually, fire personnel and additional police arrived; as they were setting up the hose, the truck's gas tank exploded (previous exciting noises: the horn going off; the horn's pathetic death squeak; and a long, loud hissing).

There's a Metro alert right now warning commuters that Red Line trains are sharing the same track between Shady Grove and Twinbrook due to a train experiencing mechanical difficulties outside the Rockville station. Lena Sun has more details: "... a fire reported under the last car of a Glenmont-bound train. The fire was reported about 4 p.m. and the train was pulled into the Rockville station about 4:30 p.m." Adjust your plans accordingly.

A grease fire this morning partially damaged Todd English's Olives restaurant, located at 1600 K Street NW. Smoke billowed out from the restaurant and up 16th Street just after 11 a.m. this morning, but the fire has since been contained. A hostess who answered the phone around 1:30 p.m. confirmed that the restaurant is currently closed, and that the staff was just about to meet to talk over when and how they might be able to reopen. DCist reader Ron sent in this image of the smoke earlier today, and several staffers who work in the area reported being able to smell the smoke from their offices.

We mentioned it briefly in this morning's roundup, but there's a bit more information available on last night's fatal rowhouse fire in the 400 block of Emerson Street NW. The victim's name has still not been released pending notification of her family, but the Post is reporting that she was 64 years old. She was found on the 2nd floor of the home and pronounced dead later a local hospital. A second person who was in the home sustained non-life threatening injuries. The cause of the fire is believed to have been accidental, and DCFD is investigating why the woman who died was not able to escape. The home reportedly did have working smoke detectors.

We're getting reports of a fire in an apartment building at 1916 17th Street NW. The fire reportedly originated in an apartment on the 4th floor of the building. So far the DCFD response is limited to a single alarm, but there are a number of fire trucks on the scene, and southbound 17th street is currently blocked in the area—best to avoid the area until it's cleared.

AlertDC lets us know that Pepco is on site at 18th Street and Columbia Rd. NW in response to a smoking manhole cover. DDOT spokesperson John Lisle follows up that Columbia Rd. NW has been closed between 18th Street and Kalorama Road as a result of the manhole emergency and smoke, and traffic is being diverted. Pepco, FEMS and the MPD are all on the scene. DDOT says it has also deployed Road Operations Patrol units and Traffic Control Officers to assist with traffic in the area.

A fire broke out in a third-floor residence in the Park Towers apartment building at 2440 16th Street NW. The District of Columbia Fire Department was able to put out the fire by approximately 3 p.m. this afternoon, before it spread to any other units. No one was injured. One DCFD firefighter said that the burned unit was rendered "untenable." A DCFD investigator had not yet determined the cause of the fire by the time the story went to print. No smoke or other evidence of the fire was visible from the street, though one window appeared to be shattered and sealed over with plastic. Traffic on 16th Street piled up as fire engines and squad cars blocked off the southbound lane between Euclid and Florida along Malcolm X Park.

An update on this morning's fire in the 1000 block of F Street NW, from the Post. Five firefighters who responded to the two-alarm blaze required medical care after the fire was contained: one broke his hand, and four others were treated for medical issues related to exertion, including elevated blood pressure. It also looks like the building in question was the one that housed that D.C.-themed souvenir shop, though the fire began in a vacant part of the building. The souvenir shop sustained heavy water damage. No civilian injuries have been reported. Roads should be cleared for the evening commute.

Thanks to the tipster who sent in this view from her office window of fire crews working to put out the two-alarm blaze at 11th and F Streets NW. In addition to F Street currently being closed between 9th and 11th streets, we hear that portions of 10th and 11th Streets are blocked by additional fire trucks beyond F Street. Here's the AP report via WTOP.

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Longtime reader and photo contributor Jaime Fearer sent us this cameraphone shot of a minivan that caught on fire in an alley next to 1401 17th Street NW, near O Street. Jamie reports that firefighters are on the scene trying to get inside the car and that the fire appears to be contained at this point, though the horn in the minivan was going off at just after 12:15 p.m. 17th Street is temporarily closed right now between Massachusetts Ave. and P Street NW while firefighters work. Parts of O Street may also be closed in the area, so plan accordingly.

Be advised for your evening commute of a serious fire at 2209 14th Street NW, which is a small retail space. Fire officials have closed 14th Street NW between V Street and Florida Ave., along with part of the intersection at 15th St. NW and W St. NW. Avoid this area if possible on your commute home. Don't take a 50-line bus if you can help it. UPDATE: We've heard this space used to be a dollar store, but it was vacated to make way for an expansion of the nearby YMCA.

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