A fire that broke out around 1:30 a.m. Thursday in the 3700 block of Suitland Road SE sent two D.C. firefighters to the hospital, one of them after falling through the roof and landing in the attic. D.C. Fire and EMS says both firefighters suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The blaze, which grew into a two-alarm fire, displaced two adults from the single-story home.
According to DC News Now, the fire began on the home's back porch before flames spread onto the roof and into the structure itself. D.C. Fire and EMS shared video showing flames and smoke pouring from the roof as crews worked to knock down the blaze. Firefighters called a mayday during the response after one member fell through the roof into the attic below.
Investigators later ruled the fire accidental, attributing the cause to incense burning on the porch, per D.C. Fire and EMS. The scene included fire engines and trucks lining the street, with hose lines stretched across the roadway as crews battled the flames. Larry Calhoun arrived at the fire scene as the department worked to contain the blaze.
A Dangerous Job Made Worse in the Dark
The displayed Project Mayday figures identify firefighters lost or separated from a hoseline as the leading category at 21.6%, falls into basements as the second category at 19.6%, and falls through roofs at 15.3%, according to research from Project Mayday cited by Fire Engineering, while 71% of Maydays occur at night. The pre-dawn Suitland Road response also took place at night. Once a mayday is called, most rescues fall to crews already on scene rather than specialized backup teams. The response can involve designated Rapid Intervention Teams.
D.C. Fire and EMS deploys 16 specialized Truck companies across the District, equipped with aerial ladders and forcible entry tools specifically for vertical ventilation and roof access during structure fires, according to the department's Facebook page. Those crews are the ones typically sent up onto burning roofs to cut ventilation holes, work that carries inherent risk even under normal conditions.
A Recent Pattern of Injured D.C. Firefighters
The Suitland Road fire comes just three days after two other D.C. firefighters were injured battling a house fire in the 1000 block of 48th Place NE, which displaced two adults and two pets, as reported by FOX 5 DC. The back-to-back incidents highlight the physical toll structure fires continue to take on District emergency crews.
Open flames from incense have caused trouble elsewhere in the region recently, too. Improperly discarded incense ashes dumped into a potted plant sparked a two-alarm apartment fire in nearby Montgomery County, Maryland, injuring one person and displacing more than a dozen residents, FOX 5 DC reported. In February 2023, an unattended burning incense stick ignited curtains in a Gaithersburg, Maryland, townhome, sending fire into the attic and roof and displacing 11 residents across three units.
These small open flames are far from rare culprits. National Fire Protection Association data cited by Seattle Fire Line shows candles alone spark an annual average of 7,400 home structure fires nationwide, causing 90 civilian deaths, 670 injuries, and $291 million in direct property damage each year.
Part of a Busy Season for DC Roof Fires
The Suitland Road blaze is the latest in a string of roof-related fires across the District this year. Hoodline previously reported on a roof fire that spread into a fourth-floor unit in the 700 block of 19th Street NE on September 3, displacing eight residents and sending one person to the hospital. A Southeast D.C. apartment fire displaced about 40 people, while a separate fire was also referenced.
No update has been provided on the specific condition of the firefighter who fell through the roof beyond the department's characterization of both injuries as non-life-threatening. The available account describes the fall and mayday but does not specify the extraction tactics.
