DC Firefighters Battle Fires Amid Freezing Temperatures

WASHINGTON, DC — DC Fire and EMS is on the scene of several fires in Northwest DC Saturday night as temperatures plummet into the teens.

The first response was in the 1300 block of Main Drive NW at a large vacant building. The two-alarm fire drew 100 personnel and 20 units. There were no reported injuries.

Firefighters initially had trouble accessing the boarded up and fenced off building before locating the fire on the first floor. Units worked in single digit wind chills to knock down the fire and continue hitting hot spots, according to DC Fire and EMS.

There was no initial word on what caused the vacant building fire.

Firefighters also responded to the 500 block Columbia Road NW. The fire happened on the second floor of a two-story detached frame house and extended into the attic. Additional units were requested to assist, as firefighters had difficulty accessing the hidden fire amid single-digit wind chills. A search of the building was done, and no injuries have been reported.

A third fire drew a response in the 1600 block of Harvard Street NW. Units found a small fire on the roof of a building under renovation. The fire was extinguished, despite firefighters encountering a frozen fire hydrant on the scene. A road flare was used to thaw the fire hydrant.