Fire & EMS responded at about 11:15 pm for the report of an apartment on fire in the 400 block of H Street, in Northwest Washington D.C.
Engine 2 arrived to heavy fire showing from a ground floor apartment. First arriving firefighters immediately began evacuating residents from the 10-story apartment building named Judiciary House.
A second alarm was sounded because the number of people inside the building and the exposure dangers. Approximately 12 people were assisted from the building, including a blind woman who was rescued through a window of her ground floor apartment.
The incident presented several challenges for firefighters, not the least of which was the fact the many occupants of the building were either elderly or handicapped or both. Because the fire was extinguished quickly with little extension, the decision was made to shelter the residents in place and keep them out of chilly temperatures.
Five people were treated by EMS on the scene. A 61-year-old woman was transported for minor smoke inhalation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
