Three adults and one child were taken to the hospital for evaluation after someone reported a possible gas leak at a school near 14th Street earlier this morning.
The D.C. Fire and EMS hazmat unit was called to the St. Augustine Catholic School (1421 V St. NW) to investigate the reported leak around 8 a.m. today.
Firefighters initially said five people were possibly sickened during the incident, but only four were taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
Hazmat crews searched the building but did not find evidence of a gas leak.
@dcfireems 4th patient, adult, has requested to go to hospital. Gas in school cafeteria shut down as precaution. Incident under control.
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) December 13, 2016
“All meter readings are negative,” said D.C. Fire spokesman Vito Maggiolo.
Photo via Twitter / D.C. Fire and EMS
A motorist hit and seriously injured a man near Dupont Circle earlier today.
The crash happened on the 1300 block of New Hampshire Ave. NW around 5:30 p.m., according to a D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman. The area where the collision happened is about a block from Dupont Circle.
A man was in the road — possibly riding a bike — when someone behind the wheel of a car hit him, the D.C. Fire spokesman said. Paramedics rushed the man to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
D.C. Police closed the street for about two hours this evening after the crash. The road reopened just before 7:30 p.m.
A motorist came perilously close to plunging their car into Rock Creek earlier this afternoon.
Someone behind the wheel of a taxi ran their car off of Rock Creek Parkway near the exit ramp to P Street NW around 12:30 p.m. today, according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
Though the red taxi cab ran over the embankment, it did not continue into the water.
One person was taken to the hospital with minor injuries after the crash. Another person was treated on the scene, fire officials said.
Taxi partially down embankment Rock Creek Parkway N/B prior P St NW. 1 to transport with minor injuries & 1 treated on scene. pic.twitter.com/La0MSj28Ve
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) November 30, 2016
This isn’t the first time someone has driven off that stretch of road. A driver plunged their car into the creek near the P Street Bridge in April.
District residents are opening up their wallets to help the owner of a food truck that caught fire in Foggy Bottom yesterday afternoon.
A fire broke out in The House Of Falafel’s Falafel Bus near 21st and H streets NW around 2 p.m. yesterday. Flames and a large plume of smoke were seen shooting from the vehicle.
One man and two women were injured in the blaze, at least one of them critically, according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
Now, George Washington University students and other locals are raising money for the man known as the “falafel guy” throughout the neighborhood.
“We see this food truck every day, and GW students are raising money for this business and those who were injured,” reads a GoFundMe page that was launched yesterday. “The food truck is part of our great community, and I believe it is right for us to help.”
As of noon today, donors had contributed more than $7,350 to the cause. A representative for the food truck was not immediately available to comment on the outpouring of support.
Photo via D.C. Fire and EMS
(Updated at 2 p.m.) A construction worker was injured after falling about 20 feet downtown.
The incident happened on the 1100 block of 15th St. NW some time around 12:30 p.m. today.
A man was working at the construction site when he was hit with a beam and fell below grade, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Doug Buchanan said. The worker’s injuries are non-life-threatening and he was conscious at the scene.
High angle rescue in progress – 1100 15th St NW. Patient fell about 20 feet below grade at construction site. pic.twitter.com/0KN8pCuQMy
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) November 8, 2016
This isn’t the first time firefighters have come to the rescue of someone at this construction site. A man injured his leg and had to be rescued there last month.
Someone behind the wheel of a truck hit and seriously injured a man near Dupont Circle earlier this morning.
The crash happened at the intersection of Dupont Circle and Massachusetts Ave. NW around 5:30 a.m. today, according to D.C. Fire spokesman Vito Maggiolo.
The man was conscious at the scene, Maggiolo said. Paramedics rushed the man to the hospital with “serious traumatic injuries.”
The driver who hit the man stayed on the scene after the crash, officials said.
Authorities closed several lanes to investigate the collision for about two hours this morning.
Victim being lifted to safety in stokes rescue basket and crane pic.twitter.com/ao8pubNrjQ
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) October 27, 2016
(Updated at 2:10 p.m.) Firefighters used a crane with a special basket to rescue an injured man from a downtown construction site this afternoon, according to the D.C. Fire and EMS Department.
The construction worker received “some sort of leg injury” about 1 p.m. in a pit where the former Washington Post building stood at 15th and L streets NW, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo told Borderstan.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the man was hurt. But his injuries were non-life-threatening.
After a crane hoisted the worker from the construction site and onto a street, paramedics brought him to a local hospital.
@dcfireems Moving the patient into position for hoisting. pic.twitter.com/SV7Li9TCjD
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) October 27, 2016
Final 15th & L Sts NW. Injured worker has been transported to hospital. Injury NOT considered serious. Call received around 1 PM. pic.twitter.com/aYHRJLYBrz
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) October 27, 2016
Someone behind the wheel of a U-Haul truck drove into and killed a man near Union Market early this morning.
The fatal collision happened near the intersection of New York Ave. and 4th St. NE just after midnight, according to D.C. Police.
The driver of the truck was headed west on New York Avenue when they hit someone in the road, police said. The person who was hit by the truck, a man, died at the scene.
The U-Haul driver remained on the scene, according to police.
Authorities have not yet identified the man who was struck and killed.
More information from MPD:
Working fire 1300 block Park Rd NW. Fire basement restaurant in 3 story row dwelling. pic.twitter.com/inaexegHvT
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) October 23, 2016
A Columbia Heights eatery known for pupusas and Mexican food caught fire early this morning, according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
Flames broke out inside El Rinconcito Cafe, located on the basement level of a building at 1326 Park Road NW, around 3 a.m. this morning.
One firefighter suffered “relatively minor injuries” while fighting the blaze, D.C. Fire and EMS said. That firefighter was taken to the hospital.
Fire 1300 blk Park Rd NW under control. Fire contained to restaurant basement & 1st floor. Treating 1 injured FF. pic.twitter.com/4IZwYaCS7c
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) October 23, 2016
Investigators believe the cause of the fire was electrical in nature.
Photo via Twitter / D.C. Fire and EMS
A task force composed of members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, D.C. Police and D.C. Fire is looking for the person who allegedly torched a vehicle parked in an alley in NoMa last weekend.
The suspicious car fire happened behind a building on the 200 block of K St. NE last Saturday around 2 a.m., according to D.C. Fire spokesman Doug Buchanan. The vehicle that caught fire was a gray 1989 E350 ambulance.
A security camera pointed at the alley appears to have captured the moment the fire started. In the video, first shared by neighborhood blog PoPville, a hooded man can be seen tampering with a parked vehicle before walking away. The car burst into flames roughly 20 minutes later, the footage shows.
About a half hour later, firefighters showed up and extinguished the blaze.
“The investigation initially led to an undetermined cause,” Buchanan said. “However, after the owner of the vehicle provided video footage of an unknown person setting the auto on fire, the determination was changed to incendiary.”
The torched ambulance reportedly was one used by a local nonprofit:
Old ambulance used by DC #nonprofit Beat Box DC torched in city's NOMA neighborhood @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/lvGireSSPG
— Kristin Wright (@kwrightnbc4) October 18, 2016
D.C. Fire and EMS is urging anyone who has more information about the fire to call its arson tip line at 202-673-2776.
(Updated at 9:55 a.m.) A man riding a motorcycle was critically injured in a crash near Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant yesterday evening.
The collision happened on the 3100 block of 16th St. NW around 6:45 p.m. yesterday, according to D.C. Police.
“A motorcyclist was traveling northbound in the 3100 block of 16th St. NW when he attempted to swerve to the left of a vehicle, who was also traveling northbound on 16th Street in the far left lane,” police said in a statement. “In an attempt to pass the vehicle to the left, the motorcyclist side swiped the left front of the vehicle. This caused the motorcyclist to cross the double yellow line into oncoming traffic where he struck another vehicle, who was traveling southbound on 16th St. NW.”
The man was thrown from his motorcycle in the crash, police said. Paramedics rushed the motorcyclist to the hospital in critical condition.
Authorities closed the intersection for several hours last night, causing some traffic backups in the area:
https://twitter.com/GoForTopherB/status/786728257081188352
Read a full brief of the incident from MPD below:
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s (MPD) Major Crash Unit are investigating a traffic accident with injury that occurred on Thursday, October 13, 2016, at approximately 6:46 pm.
A motorcyclist was traveling northbound in the 3100 block of 16th Street, Northwest when he attempted to swerve to the left of a vehicle, who was also traveling northbound on 16th Street in the far left lane. In an attempt to pass the vehicle to the left, the motorcyclist side swiped the left front of the vehicle. This caused the motorcyclist to cross the double yellow line into oncoming traffic where he struck another vehicle, who was traveling southbound on 16th Street, Northwest.
The motorcyclist, an adult male, was then propelled from his motorcycle. DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services transported the motorcyclist to a local hospital, where he was admitted and is listed in critical condition. No other injuries were reported.
This case remains under investigation. The Metropolitan Police Department is asking anyone with information about this case to call the police at 202-727-9099. Additionally, anonymous information may be submitted to the departments TEXT TIP LINE by text messaging 50411.
(Updated at 4:33 p.m.) The discovery of a mysterious powder inside of a Dupont Circle building prompted an investigation from the D.C. Fire and EMS hazmat team this afternoon.
Someone discovered an “undetermined substance described as a white powder” inside of a building on the 1800 block of N St. NW just after 3 p.m. today, according to D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo.
The powder was determined to be not hazardous around 4:15 p.m., Maggiolo said. He did not say what the powdery substance was.
Earlier, several hazmat workers could be seen donning protective suits in front of the building. It’s unclear whether the building was evacuated at any time.
A man was injured after a cooling unit leaked Freon inside of an apartment building in Shaw earlier this morning.
D.C. Fire and EMS Hazmat crews rushed to the scene of a Freon leak inside of a six-story apartment complex on the 500 block of N St. NW around 8 a.m., according to spokesman Doug Buchanan. When personnel arrived, they found that a “refrigeration or air conditioning unit” in a utility closet area was leaking the refrigerant.
A worker with the apartment building was taken to the hospital with potentially serious respiratory injuries, Buchanan said.
A contractor was called to fix the leaking unit.
HazMat freon leak – 500 blk N St SW – getting fix on now. Have transported 1 from the scene. Contractor on location pic.twitter.com/YDWOXE9t2D
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) September 12, 2016
Photo via D.C. Fire and EMS
A large fire erupted at a three-story house in Mount Pleasant tonight.
The two-alarm “heavy fire” began at a house on the 1700 block of Lamont St. NW some time before 10:15 p.m., according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
Though it was immediately unclear how or where the fire started, authorities said it spread to the home’s roof and attic. Several roads in the area were closed while firefighters battled the blaze.
Nobody was injured during the fire, officials said, but six people were displaced.
Aggressive interior attack in progress on Lamont St NW. Some fire now present in roof area. No injuries at present pic.twitter.com/i5pzXVS9c3
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) September 11, 2016
Photo via D.C. Fire and EMS
Elm St working fire in walls of home result of electric line struck by workers. Fire contained. No injuries. pic.twitter.com/OrKFiCb3ZX
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) September 8, 2016
(Updated at 12:36 p.m.) A two-story building in LeDroit Park caught fire after someone driving a construction vehicle made contact with a power line earlier today.
The fire started inside the walls of a home on the 200 block of Elm St. NW after someone driving an excavator struck an underground power line just before noon today, according to D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Doug Buchanan. Nobody was injured during the incident, Buchanan said.
Pepco workers shut down power to the lines around the home around 12:30 p.m.
Elm St NW fire contained to walls Bsmnt & 1st Flr. Pepco cut power to affected area. No injuries. Rehabbing crews pic.twitter.com/KLs2S4xIXE
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) September 8, 2016
Photos and video courtesy D.C. Fire and EMS
