From DCFireems on twitter:
“1231 S St NW – 2-story middle of row, rowhouse, fire started on 1st fl and spread to other areas – fire is contained, but not out”
and
“update (5:06pm) – 1231 S st NW – fire under control – appears to be related to fireplace and chimney, etc”
Thanks to a reader for the heads up.
Thanks to all the readers who sent the word about this incident. Following is the most specific though another reader wrote that seven fire trucks were on the scene:
“Dear PoP,
There was an apartment fire at 16th & Monroe Streets tonight at 7:30 p.m. A corner unit on the second floor looks substantially damaged.
The apartment building has a DHCD sign in front, but I believe it is a Coop. The building needs much repair and am hoping the fire is not indicating that the electrical system is going bad for the whole building. Can you tell us what a DHCD sign in front means? When was it was sold to the owners, do they have an obligation to keep up the building in good repair, can they refuse people of certain incomes/races from moving in? What does the DHCD designation mean? Does DHCD follow up with buildings like this to see if they are being maintained or kept in good order? Does Jim Graham know or care about these types of building that aren’t being maintained in the neighborhood?”
Can anyone explain the significance of a DHCD sign?
Wow, these pictures are crazy. Thanks to a reader for sending:
“Cops say it was vacant, but they evacuated several other houses. Lots of people with little kids.”
What a terrible sight. Hopefully the fire didn’t spread too far.
Thanks to a reader for sending these scary photos. I hope everyone is alright. He writes:
“Apparently the fire started in the basement and spread some while the FD struggled to get through the security gate. According to the next door neighbor, the owner was put on hold when she called 911 and it took her several minutes to find someone who could also call and get an immediate response. The FD got into the houses on either side of the burned rowhouse, but I don’t know if it spread.”
Three more photos after the jump. (more…)
Thanks to a reader for sending the photos. Just yesterday we learned of a car fire on Hiatt Place. These things really seem to come in waves. This one occurred Monday night around 6pm. The reader writes:
“Looked like an arson because the car was parked.”
Lots of emails about this incident. Here’s the most descriptive with the subject line – “10 cruisers, 2 EMS, 2 fire engines on 3600 block of 13th St”:
“No idea what went on around 8pm tonight, but it got a lot of attention from emergency services. Sirens galore. They shut down 13th street between Otis and Spring. At Otis and 13th, cops from about 5 cruisers were interviewing witnesses. At Spring and 13th, the paramedics loaded one individual into an ambulance on a stretcher. Two cars looked to be involved in the collision.”
It’s not clear whether there was a chase involve or if it was just a terrible accident. I’ll see what I can find out from MPD tomorrow. If anyone else knows more about this incident please leave info the comments.
If you were out of town for Labor Day weekend, you may have missed this article (like I did). Thanks to a reader for sending. From the New York Times on Sept. 3rd:
“Washington’s fire department, which has not faced major layoffs, is dispatched along with Emergency Medical Services to almost all emergency calls in the belief that it can provide the quickest response. It gets more such calls per capita than just about any other fire department in the nation, and a disproportionate number come from poorer neighborhoods like Trinidad, where Engine 10 is based, in the Northeast section of the city.”
You can read the full article here.
Should firefighters be responding to medical calls?
Big DCFD turnout on this one. Lots of smoke out the window of a rowhouse. It doesn’t appear there were any injuries but will update as more details become available. Emergency vehicles responded approximately 10pm Tues. evening.
Council Member Jim Graham sent an update via email last week:
“Dear Friends, below is the latest status report from the Tenants Organization at 3145 Mt Pleasant, the apt building that was the source of the 5 alarm fire a little more than a year ago. We have been meeting regularly in my office. This is a troubling and difficult situation. But this report helps understand what is happening.”
Jim — I appreciate your note below, and the strong, unequivocal support that you have given to the residents of the Deauville during the past many years. Arnold & Porter LLP is counsel to the tenants
Thanks to the readers for sending. For the photo above:
“Witnessing a whole slew of firemen/fire trucks outside a smoking rowhouse on 1118 Columbia.” I’m also hearing that the road has been closed for a while.
A description of the above photo:
“No wind, no nothing, this tree outside my apartment at 1800 Clydesdale just decided to fall over at about 11:30 tonight. Nobody was anywhere near it, but it managed to total a Mercedes and scratch a few other cars. It was on the Ontario condo building’s property and wasn’t dead or otherwise in obvious need of removal, but they just cut down about four or five in front of my place so maybe it was mourning its fallen comrades.”
