Fatal Northeast D.C. Fire Was Intentionally Set; Death Ruled Suicide

A fatal fire in northeast D.C. earlier this month was intentionally set by the deceased, according to D.C. police.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled 46-year-old Christopher Christofi's death a suicide.

Sources told News4 that Christofi bought gasoline before the fire and spread it throughout the building in the 1600 block of Isherwood Street NE.

D.C. Fire and EMS responded to a report of an explosion and fire at a 4-unit rowhouse before 4 p.m. June 4.

While battling the fire, firefighters found a body in one of the units. The body could not be immediately recovered because of instability of the structure.

Democratic nominee for D.C. Council Charles Allen, who lives nearby, described his windows rattling following what he called a huge explosion. 

"I ran outside, and a lot of folks on the street thought there may have been a car collision," he said. "Then we saw the back of this house completely missing, flames coming up, so I called 911.Then we ran over to the house. It looked like the flames went really fast, and moved to the units both to the left and right of it."

The home was so badly damaged a chimney collapsed on a nearby car. The blast left behind broken window panes of homes next door.

Contact Us