A fire at a senior living building in Northwest D.C. on Thursday morning left one person dead and forced residents to evacuate, authorities said.
One firefighter and two other people were taken to hospitals, D.C. Fire and EMS said. They are expected to recover. Other people were evaluated by medics.
Residents described a heartbreaking day, with just minutes to rush outside to safety. Many residents of the public housing building have disabilities or difficulty walking.
Resident Marcus Wood smelled smoke and walked down 10 flights of stairs while using a cane.
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“I had to get out as fast as I could,” he said.
D.C. Fire and EMS responded to the fire at the Claridge Towers Apartments, in the 1200 block of M St. NW, at about 8:30 a.m. They found the fire burning on the eighth floor of a building with 233 units.
Firefighters rescued residents in distress using an aerial tower. It wasn’t immediately clear how many residents will be displaced from their homes.
Firefighters found one victim in a burning apartment. The person died of their injuries, officials said. Their name was not immediately released.
The apartment was a senior building and community dining site, Charon Hines, acting director of Aging and Community Living, said. She added that they are working to reconnect the residents with their phones.
“Our hearts go out to all who are impacted today by this fire," Hines said.
Officials said they were going unit-by-unit through all 233 units to make sure all residents are safe.
“As you can imagine, it takes an incredible amount of effort to navigate and utilize all of our assets, to make sure all of our seniors were evacuated from the building as quickly as possible,” Hines said.
The displaced residents will receive temporary housing, according to Hines.
Video from first responders shows a dark red and orange fire streaming from a window. Another video shows dark smoke pouring from a window.
The fire was extinguished, D.C. Fire and EMS said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
This is a developing story. Stay with News4 for more updates.
