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DC Fire and EMS Busy with Back-to-Back Structure Fires

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November 14, 2019 | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DC FIRE AND EMS, Correspondent
This article is a direct street report from our correspondent and has not been edited by the 1st Responder newsroom.

Washington, DC - DC Fire and EMS dealt with working structure fires three days in a row, Tuesday through Thursday, November 12th through the 14th.

The first fire took place on the evening of the 12th at 4500 Brooks Street NE. A Box Alarm was dispatched at 7:41 PM and arriving fire companies encountered flames on the first floor of the two-story detached home.

A Working Fire Dispatch was requested as firefighters began an interior attack on the blaze. There was some spread to the 2nd floor before the fire was declared under control.
Both occupants of the home were able to safely escape, despite the fact there were no working smoke detectors inside. They were displaced by the blaze, and received assistance from the American Red Cross. The fire appears to have originated in the kitchen.
The following night, another Box Alarm was dispatched at 8:33 PM, this time for an apartment building at 254 Malcolm X Avenue SE.

Firefighters arrived to find fire on the first floor of the 2 story occupied building, and requested the Working Fire Dispatch.

Once again, units waged an aggressive interior attack while searching for any trapped residents. One occupant was assisted out by firefighters, and evaluated on the scene by EMS.

Flames did spread to the 2nd floor via walls before the blaze was brought under control. Working smoke detectors were present in this case. 3 adults and 3 children were left homeless, and once again the American Red Cross was called in to assist with those displaced.

The last in the series of fires was reported at 4:53 PM at 607 G Street SW. That fire involved the first floor kitchen of a 2 story townhouse and was quickly placed under control with no injuries.

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DC FIRE AND EMSCorrespondent

No information from the author.