Andrew Mollenbeck, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – The fire that injured seven firefighters in Riverdale on Friday was caused by arson, investigators say.
“This cowardly crime is unconscionable to me,” says Marc Bashoor, Prince George’s County fire chief.
“I have assured the nearly 3,000 men and women of the Prince George’s County Fire and EMS Department, and I assure you, that we will leave no stone unturned to bring anyone responsible for this to justice,” he says.
The fire — described as a “fireball” — started in the basement of a home on the 6400 block of 57th Avenue on Friday night, authorities determined.
Of the seven injured, two firefighters were critically hurt battling the fire.
Ethan Sorrell, 21, with the Bladensburg Volunteer Fire Department, was in stable but critical condition after suffering burns to his airways.
Kevin O’Toole, 22, was also in stable but critical condition after suffering second and third degree burns over 40 percent of his body.
All seven were treated at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, only O’Toole remains in the Burn Unit. His rehabilitation is expected to take more than six months.
Firefighters arrived at the one-story home, which had a basement, just after 9 p.m. on Friday. Both levels were on fire. The firefighters were battling the fire inside the home when they realized the high winds could be dangerous.
“They immediately recognized within seconds that there was a problem, and ordered an evacuation,” says Bashoor.
The evacuation order was given just seconds before the fireball ripped through the house.
The department says the fireball was caused when a sudden rush of air, fanned by the high winds, entered the house from the rear.
Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker released a statement asking for county residents to think of and pray for the firefighters’ recovery.
“Our first responders put their lives on the line every day and I know that they are all effected [sic] by this tragic incident,” said Baker.
In the house next door, investigators say they found evidence suggesting this wasn’t the only fire caused by arson in the neighborhood.
“The team found that the house next door… suffered significant interior damage from an unreported fire that appears to have occurred at an earlier date,” he says.
Officials won’t say how the two fires are related.
Both homes were unoccupied.
“I want to say to those who are responsible that you can be assured that you will be apprehended, that you will thereafter be arrested, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” says Angela Alsobrooks, the Prince George’s County state’s attorney.
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