Five people and six cats are out of their homes due to a fire that started during a standoff with D.C. police on Monday.
It happened on the 200 block of 37th Place Southeast before 3 p.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Armed with a weapon, a man — wanted by police — holed up in an apartment and then apparently set it on fire, WTOP’s Kyle Cooper reported from the scene.
“By the time we engaged in a fire attack, there was fire in the first and second floor and in the attic,” D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Vito Maggiolo said, adding that firefighters had to wait an hour after they arrived to start putting it out.
The man was taken into custody and was seen heading off the scene in an ambulance. D.C. Fire and EMS said his injuries are not life-threatening.
Update Working Fire 200 block 37th Pl. SE. All fire extinguished & incident under control. Minimum 4 displacements & @RedCrossNCGC notified. Adult male transported non life threatening injuries. Video taken earlier as scene secured & firefighting about to commence. #DCsBravest pic.twitter.com/w7s7br9u1G
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) January 16, 2023
Below is the area where it happened.
WTOP’s Kyle Cooper, who reported from Southeast D.C., contributed to the report.
