Tag Archives: Washington DC

Government Office, Government/Military

Washington, D.C. – Sprinkler activation contains fire at US General Services Administration building; No injuries reported

A fire is under control at a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) building in downtown D.C. Monday morning, fire officials said about 6:20 a.m.

D.C. Fire and EMS crews were called for a fire on the sixth floor of the 10-story GSA Regional Office Building at 301 7th St. SW. It wasn’t immediately known what time they were called.

Sprinklers inside the building were activated and contained the fire, officials said. “Once again Sprinklers proved effectiveness in containing a potentially major fire in a key facility. Sprinklers save lives and property,” D.C. Fire and EMS tweeted about 6:30 a.m.

There are no reports of injuries.

Storage / Warehouse, Warehouse

Washington, DC – Sprinkler system contains fire started in basement of scooter warehouse

The warehouse fire started in a bin full of lithium batteries in the basement on Tuesday night just before midnight, says D.C. Fire spokesperson Vito Maggiolo. Smoke from the fire triggered the basement sprinkler system, which contained the fire to the immediate area and automatically triggered a call to the fire department. The department has ruled it an accidental fire, Maggiolo says.

Skip said in a statement on Twitter that the fire was not a scooter fire, and was not a charging-related fire. “The storage bin contained batteries removed as a result of the proper operation of Skip’s quality control process,” the company wrote. “Our D.C. warehouse team is working with experts to expedite the disposal of used batteries and is fully cooperating in the investigation.”

The latest fire comes after a parked Skip scooter caught fire on a sidewalk in late May. The company suspended operations for a short time after that fire, too, though it said at the time that they had “no reason to believe this affects any other vehicles in our fleet.” Skip reportedly addressed some “risk factors” that made it more likely for a fire like this to happen again, DDOT told the Post, though the agency did not specify what those risk factors were. The company put tamper-resistant battery cages on the scooters. The company found the cause of the fire was likely to be some kind of damage to the scooter, reports the Post.

There have also been additional fires at the Skip warehouse. Maggiolo tells DCist that the department responded to a very similar fire in September 2018, in the same basement storage area. That time, a scooter in charging mode went up in flames and triggered the smoke alarms and the sprinkler system. That fire was also ruled accidental, and “the result of an unspecified electrical event.”

The Washington Post reports that there was yet another warehouse fire in October. DDOT reportedly learned about those additional fires on Wednesday and issued the suspension, according to the outlet.

Read full story https://dcist.com/story/19/06/20/city-suspends-skips-scooter-license-after-warehouse-fire/

Other Business

Washington, D.C. – Electrical fire at TV studio contained by sprinkler system

Several television studios were evacuated Sunday morning when a fire broke out just after 7 a.m. on the eighth floor of a building off of North Capitol Street in D.C. The building houses several television networks and their studios – including Fox News, C-SPAN, and MSNBC.

Firefighters had to break out multiple windows to ventilate the smoke. No one was inside the studio when the fire began – and no one was injured. Investigators say everyone was able to make it out the building safely thanks to the fire alarm. Fire officials say they found an electrical panel on fire in a studio and were able to extinguish it with the help of the building’s sprinkler system.

“We found an electrical panel on fire in a studio facility on the eighth floor. We were able to extinguish that fire, the sprinklers had activated,” said Vito Maggiolo with D.C. Fire and EMS. “Thank God for sprinklers, they are very effective devices. They contained the fire. Our firefighters finished it off with final attack,” he said.

Government Office, Government/Military

Washington, D.C. – Attic fire at Russell Senate Office Building extinguished by sprinkler system

The Russell Senate Office Building was evacuated last Saturday night as Washington emergency crews responded to a small fire in the attic, according to the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department’s Twitter account.  “Box Alarm Russell Senate Office Building. #DCsBravest on scene with small fire in attic extinguished by sprinklers,” the tweet said. “Light smoke in several areas of building. Building has been evacuated.”  Department spokesman Vito Maggiolo said personnel responded at 6:10 p.m. to the fire, which was extinguished by the sprinkler system.  Maggiolo said the incident is now under control, and the cause of the fire will be investigated.

Hotel / Restaurant, Restaurant

Washington, D.C. – Sprinkler system activated at roof top bar

Fire broke out late Tuesday night in a commercial building in Washington around the corner from Farragut Square and three or four blocks from the White House.

The blaze broke out in a four story building in the 1700 block of I Street NW, the D.C. Fire and EMS Department said. One firefighter was taken to a hospital with a nonlife-threatening injury.

According to the department, the fire broke out in a rooftop bar, and came to involve parts of the walls and flooring. Sprinklers helped contain it, and it was “knocked down” by about 10 p.m., the department said. It was not clear whether anyone was in the bar when the blaze began.

As of late Tuesday no cause had been determined, the fire department said. Investigators were trying to find it, according to the department.

Other-Government/Military

Washington, D.C. – Fire at The Smithsonian Castle contained by sprinkler system

The Smithsonian Castle caught fire and has been evacuated, the D.C. fire department says. A fire broke out on the third floor of the towering, historic building on the National Mall, at 1000 Jefferson Drive SW. The fire was contained by sprinklers and no one is reported to have been hurt, the fire department said about noon Wednesday. It occurred in a non-public area, Smithsonian spokeswoman Linda St. Thomas said.

The castle is closed for the rest of Wednesday as the area is cleaned. The fire what accidental and “electrical in nature,” the fire department said in an update. The castle, also known as the Smithsonian Institution Building, is home to the Smithsonian Institution’s administrative offices and information center. It was completed in 1855 and has items from the collections of each Smithsonian museum. Information was not released immediately on whether any art or artifacts were damaged. The fire department initially said the area where the fire occurred had been under construction; they said in an update that it was not.

 

Hotel / Motel, Hotel / Restaurant

Washington, D.C. – Early morning laundry fire at Capital Hilton controlled with help from sprinkler system

A small fire at the Capital Hilton in D.C. sent guests out into the streets Tuesday morning. Fire crews were called to the hotel at 1001 16th Street about 5 a.m. after the fire in the laundry room activated the sprinkler system.  No injuries have been reported.  Guests have returned to their rooms.  Investigators will determine the exact cause of the blaze.