A firefighter and a civilian suffered minor injuries as crews from fire departments around northern Virginia battled a large five-alarm blaze that tore through a five-story construction site Saturday.
The fire ignited just after 9:30 a.m. on the top floor of a building under construction south of Alexandria in Fairfax County, WTOP-TV reports. Flames moved quickly through the site, stoked by strong winds that made it a challenge for crews.
Around 150 firefighters from multiple departments—including Fairfax and Alexandria counties in Virginia and Prince George's County in Maryland—responded to the blaze, which took about eight hours to control. Thick clouds of black smoke could be seen across the Potomac River in Maryland, and they also were picked up by weather radar, according to WTOP.
A firefighter suffered second-degree burns battling the blaze and was treated at the scene. A civilian was taken to the hospital with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening, WTOP added
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
