By Armando Trull
WUSA9
SPRINGFIELD, Va. — Fairfax County Fire Department officials say a two alarm blaze sent scores of residents into the street around 5 a.m. Saturday and that the three apartments destroyed by the fire did not have functioning smoke alarms.
“The smoke detectors in two of the apartments did not have batteries and the third smoke detector was not working,” Captain Willie Bailey with the Fairfax County Fire Department said.
The fire began after multiple explosions in the apartment building located in the 7200 block of Commerce Street. The cause of the explosions and subsequent blaze is still under investigation.
Displaced residents of three buildings were first moved to a nearby restaurant, then to Garfield Elementary School. Once the fire was under control and it was determined that only the building damaged by the fire was uninhabitable, the other residents were allowed to return.
About 65 people living in 11 apartments have been left homeless and the Red Cross has set up a temporary shelter at Robert E. Lee Recreation Center. They estimate it will take a month to find them permanent homes.
Ironically, this is the weekend that the Fairfax County Fire Department is visiting private residences, checking smoke detectors and installing free ones. Similar services are offered by most fire departments in the metro DC area.
Reprinted with permission from WUSA9.