WASHINGTON — The deaths of two people found dead following a two-alarm house fire in Southeast D.C. on Saturday morning have been ruled homicides by D.C. police.
D.C. Fire and EMS said they responded to a house fire in the 3300 block of Ely Place, Southeast, around 6 a.m. Saturday. Once the fire was out, two people were found dead inside the house.
Police identified the deceased as 60-year-old Joseph Burgess, of Southeast, and 50-year-old Regina Bowman, of Southeast.
According to D.C. Police, an autopsy was conducted on Sunday. While police did not specify how the two had died, they said the manner of death for both victims was consistent with signs of homicide.
Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS, said the victims may have suffered injuries “as a result of something other than fire.”
A second alarm was sounded during the process of fighting the fire after a mayday call from a firefighter who fell through the floor of the single-story building, the department tweeted. The firefighter was safely removed and left the scene uninjured.
WTOP’s John Domen reported crews had originally responded to another structure fire near the intersection of 34th and D streets, around the corner from the incident on Ely Place. That fire led to four people being displaced. There were no injuries.
Sad morning in DC as our members found two victims on a fire in the 3300blk of Ely Pl SE. A mayday was also sounded when a firefighter fell thru a floor — he was rescued and is said to be okay. The fire has been placed under control. pic.twitter.com/1s5dLho0Pj
— DC Fire Fighters L36 (@IAFF36) January 5, 2019
Minnesota Avenue Southeast remained closed in both directions between D and E streets near Fort Circle Park due to ongoing fire department activity Saturday.
Below is the area of the incident:
