The fire broke out in a senior living apartment building in the 1200 block of M Street Northwest.
WASHINGTON — One person is dead after a fire broke out at a senior-living apartment building Thursday morning. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
DC Fire and EMS crews were called to an apartment fire in Northwest around 8:35 a.m. A second alarm was called to get additional firefighters to the blaze in the 1200 block of M Street Northwest. About 100 firefighters were on the scene.
“It’s heartbreaking man, somebody that you live around for years,” Marcus Wood, a resident rescued from the buillding, said.
Arriving firefighters found flames coming from the eighth floor of the nine-story apartment building. Firefighters said the apartment building was occupied, and they worked to quickly evacuate residents. One person was inside the apartment where the fire started, and that person did die, officials said.
“It’s really sad and it really hurts me,” building resident Mark White said.
Crews have not identified the person who died. Three other civilians were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
“Because of the level of the fire alarm that was initiated today there were additional parameters put in place as far as assisting those residents to get out of the building safely,” the Director of the Department of Aging and Community Living Charon P.W. Hines said.
Fire crews noted the life hazard in the building was high because it’s a building full of senior citizens, making the recuse mission more difficult.
“A lot of seniors, they on wheelchairs and stuff,” White said. “They live on the higher floors, but they shouldn’t be up there– they should be down lower.”
Crews also responded to a mayday call for a firefighter in distress, but said the mayday was resolved and the firefighter is safe. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
Crews said the majority of the fire was knocked down by 9:15 a.m.
According to acting fire chief Andre Edwards, the building has more than 200 units. In total, firefighters say about 20 units were impacted by the fire. Several residents were rescued by responding firefighters.
It is not clear yet if the building had working smoke detectors.
People living in the building told WUSA 9 there have been ongoing issues with this apartment building.
“It needs to be better,” White said. “I haven’t seen any sprinklers in there, but I know the fire alarm goes off a lot, but a lot of people don’t take it serious because it goes off so much.”
“I smelled something but I didn’t think it was that serious,” Wood added.
Wood lives on the 10th floor and made it out safely thanks to fire crews.
“The fire people knocked my door down almost and told me I had to roll out,” Wood said. “Always a pleasure for me to be alive, but I hate to hear that someone lost their life.”
Several neighbors told WUSA 9 they know who the person that died is, and said they had just had surgery recently.
“We knew her, she was a nice lady,” Wood said.
Roads in the area of the apartment building were closed while firefighters worked to bring the fire under control, but have since reopened.
Earlier this morning DC firefighters also battled a fire near the Lincoln Memorial. A concession kiosk caught fire and sent a man to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries.
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