Woman injured in DC apartment fire; neighbors suspect blaze was intentionally set

WASHINGTON - A woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries after a fire tore through an apartment building in D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood Friday morning. FOX 5’s Stephanie Ramirez reports that neighbors believe the blaze was intentionally set.

The fire broke out just before 9 a.m. in the 800 block of Upshur Street.

Residents, visibly shaken, told Ramirez they think the fire was deliberately started. They shared video with FOX 5 that appears to show a man pouring liquid from a bottle in a hallway before the flames erupted. After firefighters knocked down the blaze, police escorted a person who resembled the man in the video away in handcuffs. A D.C. police official said the individual was being taken for evaluation and may have been experiencing a mental health crisis.

Firefighters said the fire appeared to start in a second floor apartment and spread to an adjacent building, causing minor damage to that building’s roof. The woman who was hospitalized was inside that second building when she was hurt.  An assistant fire chief says the woman suffered injuries from exposure to the fire.

The building houses a barbecue restaurant on the ground floor with apartments above. Six residents have been displaced.

Ramirez reports no charges were immediately announced and the cause of the fire remains unknown. The ATF and the Fire Marshal’s Office are also investigating.