At about 4:45 PM (2/28), fire alarms sounded at 201 I Street, SW – the Capitol Park Plaza Apartments. Heavy smoke and fire raged in a fourth floor apartment the North side of the building. DCFD responded quickly and in force, eventually closing down the intersection at Third and I Streets, SW. Residents on floors below the fire were instructed to evacuate the building; tenants on floors from the fourth to the eighth were asked to stay in place, inside their apartments, because of heavy smoke conditions.

From the outside of the building, it appeared that firefighters had to battle prodigious smoke and flames.  Several residents were forced to their balconies as smoke filled their apartments.  Truck 10 was able to get its aerial ladder up to a fourth floor unit in the rear, where a mother and her baby awaited rescue.  The Truck’s driver, FF Technician Kevin Logan, climbed the ladder and calmed the family in the apartment, which was two units away from where the fire started.  As a precaution, he cradled the woman’s six-month-old baby in his arms and climbed back down the ladder to safety.  The infant’s mother and an adult male were sheltered in place.

One firefighter suffered second degree burns to his legs.  His injuries were considered non-life threatening.  Several civilians were assessed by EMS, including the 84-year-old woman in whose apartment the fire started.  While some were treated on the scene for mild smoke inhalation, there were no civilian transports.

There was significant damage to the sprawling apartment complex.  As yet, the fire marshal has not determined the cause of the blaze, which displaced several residents, most of whom were relocated to vacant apartments inside the building.

Box:  Engines 13, 18, 2, 8 & 15 – Trucks 10 & 7 – BFC 2 – RS 1

WFD:  Engine 6, Tower 3 – BFC 3 – SAFO – A 18 – EMS 2 – FIU – RS 3 – PIO – AIR 2

Second:  Engines 16, 19, 23 & 10 – Trucks 13 & 2 – BFC 6 – FFD – MCU – HM – EMS 5 – A 12