Muriel Bowser

Body Found In Northwest DC Apartment After Massive Fire

Nearly 200 residents displaced by Saturday fire

The body of a man was found Sunday in the wreckage of an apartment building that caught fire overnight Saturday, officials say. 

Fire Chief Gregory Dean said the body was found by dogs searching through the building. It was found in a room that investigators believe was the origin of the fire.

Dean said the roof of the building fell down into the apartment where the body was found. He said they have not determined the cause of the fire. The investigation continued Monday.

More than 200 residents were displaced by the fire that started about 3 a.m. Saturday on the 1300 block of Peabody Street NW. Heavy smoke billowed through three of the four stories of the building. Fire crews used ladders to rescue residents.

"My son says, 'Mommy, when are we gonna go home?'" Melanie Galloway said. "I said, 'Baby, we can't go home.'"

Galloway was among the residents who went back to the building Monday to try to salvage her family's belongings. But they were not allowed inside.

She said after they heard the alarm, she and her husband scooped up their twins, covered them with blankets and escaped. 

Dean said they became aware of a missing person Saturday night after talking with residents who escaped the building.

The body was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for D.C., where a cause of death and identity will be determined.

Six other people, including five firefighters, were taken to a hospital with minor injuries on Saturday. They were treated and released.

Five other people, all residents, were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the fire is likely one of the largest D.C. has had in recent memory.

"It's certainly the largest I've seen in Ward 4 in the 10 years that I have been in elected office," Bowser said.

Displaced residents were staying at the Emery Recreation Center.

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