A fire engulfed playground equipment near Upshur Park in northwest D.C. on Tuesday.
The fire broke out at Sharpe Playground at Bancroft Elementary School at 4300 13th St. about 6:30 p.m. near the Petworth neighborhood, according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
“This is an incendiary fire; it was intentionally set,” D.C. Fire Deputy Chief Mark J. Wynn said. “Without a doubt, we do know that.”
Bancroft Elementary School sent a letter to parents saying the playground will be closed until further notice, but over the previous two weeks while the playground was being renovated, they used an alternative play space and will use that again until the playground is repaired.
Twitter video showed the large flames being contained by firefighters and melted debris falling from the playground equipment. D.C. fire investigators are searching for the cause of the fire.
@petworthdcnews pic.twitter.com/h5DWPxNyyz — Mark Bjorge (@MarkBjorge) October 11, 2016
Fire department officials estimated the damage to be about $25,000.
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“Our real concern is that this is a place for families and children to congregate, so we want to bring this case to closure as soon as possible,” Wynn said.
It was the third suspicious fire at an elementary school playground in the area this month.
Playgrounds near two elementary schools in Fairfax County, Virginia, were also recently set ablaze.
The playground at Lees Corner Elementary School on Hollinger Avenue was set on fire on Oct. 2, and the playground at Greenbriar West Elementary School on Poplar Tree Road was set on fire Monday.
Arson is suspected in the two Virginia playground fires.
"We have reached out to Fairfax," Wynn said. "We have no reason to believe they are interconnected at this time."
Investigators hope surveillance video from the Bancroft’s security cameras will help identify the culprit.
An earlier version of this article identified the D.C. school as Sharpe Health School.
