Dulles International Airport passengers preparing for departure were evacuated for roughly 90 minutes after a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police scooter burst into flames inside the terminal.
A spokesperson for the MWAA said the incident started at around 7:30 p.m. inside a departure terminal. For reasons not yet identified, an officer’s segway began to smoke before catching fire, creating a dark cloud inside the airport and injuring two officers.
“As a safety precaution, passengers were evacuated from the departures level of the terminal,” agency spokesperson James Johnson said in an email to WTOP.
The agency’s fire and rescue department responded to the blaze and began attempting to contain the smoke, venting it from other parts of the airport terminal. Meanwhile, officials had everyone on the departures levels of the main terminal evacuate the airport.
The authority completed smoke ventilation and firefighting at around 9 p.m. Passengers and employees were allowed back into the building and, Johnson said, normal operations resumed. Additional delays related to the fire have not been shared with WTOP.
Two Airport Authority police officers were reportedly taken to a local hospital for evaluation and are expected to be okay. No other injuries related to the fire were reported.
ALERT: Around 7:30p.m. smoke was observed in the main terminal caused by a police motorized segway. Passengers evacuated as a safety precaution. MWAA Fire and Rescue responded, contained the smoke and completed ventilation by 9 p.m. Operations resumed afterwards.
— Dulles Airport (IAD) (@Dulles_Airport) August 20, 2023
WTOP’s Nardos Mesmer contributed to this report.
