Photos Courtesy of Elliot J. Goodman and Vito Maggiolo

September 27, 2007 Story by Vito Maggiolo

Timeline by Dave Statter WUSA9 Statter 911

D.C.'s first four alarm blaze in seven years destroyed a large warehouse on Queens Chapel Road N.E. on Thursday evening, September 27th.

A box alarm assignment arrived at Coosmans, a produce firm at 2144 Queens Chapel Road, to be confronted with an ugly mass of acrid, black smoke pumping from the 200x200 one and two story commercial structure.

The building was locked up tight, forcing firefighters to put multiple saws to work, cutting open metal roll down doors and other entranceways. Once inside, an attack began with several handlines, but the deep seated heavy fire, obscured by the extraordinary heavy smoke, was too difficult to reach. The threat of a roof collapse finally forced units out of the structure.

Additional alarms were sounded as Command 1 reverted to an exterior attack, eventually utilizing Tower 3 and several ladder pipes and other master streams to pound away at the blaze.

Eventually, 19 engines and 10 trucks were operating or in the staging area, including units from the Naval District of Washington Fire Department and Prince Georges County.

It took several hours to finally bring the fire under control. Two firefighters suffered non life threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

Due to the strain on the department's resources and magnitude of the blaze, the Fire Operations Center at Engine 2 was activated, and several ready reserve apparatus were staffed to supplement mutual aid units that relocated into the city.

Approximate timeline of the fire: Courtesy of Stater911

1917 Box alarm

1924 2nd alarm

1949 Special call 3 trucks, 1 engine

1955 3rd alarm

2020 By this time it was equivalent to a 4th alarm assignment