Photo by Chris Rief aka Spodie Odie.

Good morning, Washington. A massive fire which began early this morning in Columbia Heights is the cause of at least one death. A large blaze broke out in the 3100 block of 16th Street NW, across from Bell Multicultural School, at about 3:45 a.m. Upon responding to the scene, the D.C. fire department helped evacuate a large number of residents out of the building. But they couldn’t reach everyone — one man decided to jump from one of the upper stories of the building. He later died. Eight others were transported to the hospital, several with severe injuries, including a two-year-old who was badly burned. Due to the emergency response, 16th Street NW has been an absolute mess this morning; the major commuting artery was initially shut down between Park and Columbia Roads — traffic, including Metrobuses, has been diverted around the scene, though two lanes of southbound traffic were opened up about an hour ago. Obviously, the fire caused significant damage — it is not yet known when residents will be able to return to their apartments. Fire investigators are currently on the scene, looking for clues as to what started the blaze. 125 people have been displaced — they are currently being housed at a recreation center.

Victim in U Street Shooting Tried To Calm Tensions At Funeral: Jason Cherkis reports on Jamal Coates, the man who was killed yesterday during the shooting and car accident along U Street. Coates, a 21-year-old who used to be a member of a crew which roamed around 17th and Euclid Streets NW, had attempted to temper tensions between rival crews who were attending the funeral of Ashley McRae. Bryan Weaver, who played basketball and travelled with Coates on a trip to Guatemala, called him “the most frustrating kid that I ever came in contact with,” — a person who wanted to get a job and obviously had a gift for leadership, but could never shake his past.

O’Malley Holds Big Lead In Maryland Gov. Race: In a Washington Post poll about the race for Maryland governor, Democratic incumbent Martin O’Malley holds a rather large lead over Republican Bob Ehrlich. O’Malley currently holds a 14 point lead among all registered voters, and an 11 point lead among those who identified themselves as likely voters. Complete splits for every question in the poll can be found here.

Where Can One Procure An Ark?: There’s been a bit of a precipitation shortage around this town of late, but no worries — we could get about a month’s worth of rain in one 24-hour period beginning this afternoon. Thanks to a tropical storm (soon to be named Nicole) making its way up the east coast, we could experience anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain overnight, though, as Capital Weather Gang points out, the timing and amount D.C. will see is difficult to predict. A Flash Flood Watch has already been placed into effect. Plus side: this weekend will likely be beautiful.

Briefly Noted: Huffington Post to bus people into D.C. for Stewart/Colbert rallies…Sulfuric acid spill at water sewage treatment station injures one…Lydia DePillis culls the most interesting local bits from the American Community Survey…Montgomery County also facing large budget shortfall…It’s National Coffee Day, or, as it’s known among coffee fiends like myself, “Wednesday.”

This Day in DCist: Last year, Happy the Hippo left D.C. with nary a goodbye and the homicide count hit triple digits, despite Chief Cathy Lanier’s goal to keep it under 100.