fire department

Major Power Outage in Ballston, Bluemont

By ARLnow.com

Emergency response and dark traffic lights near Ballston Common Mall (photo courtesy Katie Pyzyk)

As the minutes tick down to the start of the Super Bowl, more than 3,100 Dominion customers are currently without power in Arlington.

Dominion’s website says the cause of the widespread outage, centered around the Ballston and Bluemont neighborhoods, is “pending investigation.” Restoration of power is estimated between 7-9 p.m.

As the lights and traffic signals went out around Ballston, the fire department was called to investigate a possible fire at the under-renovation Ballston Common Mall. In the end it was determined to be a false alarm, possibly prompted by smoke from the mall’s rooftop generators as they kicked in.

Photo courtesy Katie Pyzyk

JUST IN: Bomb Squad Investigating Suspicious Packages at Americana Hotel

By ARLnow.com

Bomb squad called to incident at Yorktown High School (file photo)Arlington’s bomb squad is on scene at the Americana Hotel in Crystal City for a suspicious package investigation.

Police requested the bomb squad respond to the hotel, at 1400 Jefferson Davis Highway, just before 5:45 p.m. to investigate several suspicious packages. Additional fire department units were requested to the scene around 6 p.m.

Police were initially called to the hotel for a suspicious person.

“There was a report [that a] male subject was acting suspiciously,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage told ARLnow.com. “He had left the scene prior to police arrival.”

The man “left some packages behind in a hotel room,” Savage said. “In an abundance of caution, the ACFD Bomb Squad is going to investigate the packages.”

Update at 7:20 p.m. — The scene has been cleared, police said via Twitter.

File photo

UPDATED: Dog Dies in Apartment Fire Near Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Arlington County firefighters are on the scene of an apartment fire in the North Highlands neighborhood, near Rosslyn.

The fire was reported on the 1600 block of 21st Street N., in the living room of a second floor apartment, just before 1:45 p.m.

The blaze was quickly extinguished. Firefighters located a dog that had been in the apartment and attempted CPR, but the dog was later pronounced dead, we’re told.

No person was inside the apartment at the time and no injuries were reported. Firefighters are currently ventilating smoke from the building and investigating the cause of the fire.

ACFD Investigates Report of Smoke at the FDIC Building

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County fire truckArlington County firefighters responded to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation offices in Virginia Square this afternoon for a report of smoke.

The call went out around 1:15 p.m., for smoke seen in or around the FDIC building at 1001 N. Monroe Street.

A full fire response was dispatched, but an investigation revealed only a minor smoke event, from a burned out fan motor.

Nothing Hazardous Found During Hazmat Situation at W-L

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County firefighters, including the hazmat team, responded to Washington-Lee High School this morning after air monitoring alarms indicated a possible refrigerant leak in the school’s boiler room.

ACFD was dispatched to W-L around 10:45 a.m. Firefighters investigated the alarms for more than an hour before concluding that there were no hazards, a fire department spokesman said.

The boiler room was ventilated during the incident response, but the school was not evacuated and no injuries were reported.

In the end, it was a malfunctioning alarm, not a hazardous leak, that caused the incident, said APS spokeswoman Jennifer Harris.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Sunset on Four Mile Run

ACFD Battles New Year’s Day Fires — The Arlington County Fire Department had a busy New Year’s Day. In the afternoon the department battled a fire in a duplex on the 2400 block of S. Nelson Street. That night numerous ACFD units assisted Fairfax County Fire in battling a high-rise apartment fire on S. George Mason Drive. [Twitter, NBC Washington, Twitter, Twitter]

Dorsey on Metro’s Service Hours — Arlington County Board member and WMATA Board member Christian Dorsey writes in a Washington Post op-ed that planned cuts to Metrorail’s late-night hours are painful but necessary. “These service cuts are necessary to protect our riders from the risk of injury or worse,” Dorsey wrote. “It is our ethical and public duty to take every reasonable step to ensure that we don’t harm Metro riders in the worst and most irreparable ways.” [Washington Post]

W-L Soccer Team to Be Lauded — The Virginia General Assembly is expected to approve a joint resolution saluting the Washington-Lee High School boys soccer team for winning its first state title last year. [InsideNova]

Wakefield Reaches Tourney Championships — Over the holiday break the Wakefield High School boys basketball team reached the championship of the George Long Holiday Hoops Tournament but fell to Glenelg Country. The Wakefield girls, however, beat Parkview to win the Parkview Classic tournament. [Washington Post, Wakefield Athletics, Twitter]

Tractor Trailer Brings Down Power Lines in Ballston, Driver Trapped

By Samantha Moore
1/10

A FedEx tractor trailer pulled down some low-hanging power lines in the Ballston area Thursday evening, trapping the driver in the cab of the truck.

The accident happened just before 3:30 p.m., near the intersection of 13th Street N. and N. Stuart Street.

The top of the truck clipped some power lines as it was driving down the street, pulling them down and draping them across the semi-trailer. The lines were reported to be sparking on the road immediately afterward.

Though the driver was not physically trapped, he remained in the cab of the truck for fear of electrocution.

Arlington County police and firefighters responded to the scene, closing down roads and sidewalks while they waited for Dominion to shut off the power.

The driver was still in the cab when an ARLnow photographer left the scene, around 4 p.m.

Dominion reports that seven customers in the neighborhood are without power. Their electricity is expected to be restored between 7-11 p.m., according to Dominion’s website.

ACFD Responds to Smoke Incident at Outback Steakhouse

By ARLnow.com

Outback Steakhouse in Arlington ForestFirefighters responded Thursday afternoon to a possible fire in an air conditioning and heating unit at the Outback Steakhouse in Arlington Forest.

The restaurant at 4821 1st Road N., near Route 50, was initially reported to be filling with smoke due to a problem with its HVAC system. Firefighters arriving on scene said there was no active fire and that a haze inside was beginning to dissipate.

The smoke came from an overheated motor in the rooftop HVAC system, according to scanner traffic. No word yet on whether the incident will prevent Blooming Onion fans from getting their fix at dinner tonight.

Photo via Google Maps

Photos: One Trapped in Falls Church Wreck

By ARLnow.com
1/5

One person was briefly trapped in a car after a two-vehicle wreck in the City of Falls Church this morning.

The crash happened around 9 a.m. at S. Washington Street and Maple Avenue, a tricky intersection that’s the site of a future pedestrian safety improvement project.

Arlington County and Fairfax County firefighters and medics responded to the scene and freed the trapped vehicle occupant. Two people were reported to be injured, though none of those injuries were said to be life-threatening.

Photos courtesy Andrew Pang/DC Metro Fire Photographers

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Unusual trash day items (Photo courtesy Peter Golkin)

ACFD Battles Fire in Fairlington — Firefighters from Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax together helped to battle a kitchen fire in a Fairlington condominium this morning, preventing it from spreading further. S. Abingdon Street near Abingdon Elementary was blocked for part of the morning as a result of the emergency response. [Twitter, Twitter]

ACPD Cracks Down on Fake IDs — An Arlington County Police Department campaign to crack down on fake IDs, in partnership with Clarendon bars, has netted more than 450 fakes since May. At one point this summer, according to a manager, Don Tito collected about 20 fake IDs per week. [WJLA]

Metro Pulls 4000 Series Cars — Metro has removed all 4000-series railcars from service to due safety concerns. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said he asked the agency to prioritize 8-car train service on the Blue Line while the railcars are out of service. Metro’s general manager “assured me there’d be very little impact to BL riders,” Beyer tweeted. [WMATA, Twitter]

Sietsema Lauds Ambar — Ambar’s new Clarendon outpost not only lured the Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema west of the Potomac River, but it received 2.5 out of 3 stars from the restaurant critic. Sietsema’s main gripe: too much noise. “Surely the same folks who dispense so much good will and satisfying food can solve a problem like disquiet,” Sietsema wrote. [Washington Post]

Post Profiles Old Dominion Neighborhood — The Washington Post’s continued anthropological study of Arlington’s neighborhoods in the real estate section has this week brought it to the Old Dominion community. A pair of recent homebuyers said they liked that Old Dominion “had a neighborhood feel and was also walkable.” [Washington Post]

Big Wins for Arlington at NAIOP Awards — Arlington County fared well at the 2016 NAIOP Northern Virginia commercial real estate awards on Wednesday. Among the local projects being recognized were the Bartlett in Pentagon City, WeWork/WeLive in Crystal City, Arlington’s Dept. of Human Services building along Washington Blvd and Opower in Courthouse. [NAIOP]

Photo courtesy Peter Golkin

BREAKING: Fire at Columbia Pike Church

By ARLnow.com
1/14

(Updated at 6:35 p.m.) Firefighters are on the scene of a fire at a church along Columbia Pike.

The smoky fire broke out at the Arlington Presbyterian Church at 3506 Columbia Pike around 5:30 p.m.

Initial reports suggest the fire started in a closet at Funshine Preschool, the child care center that’s housed in the church, before spreading to a hallway.

The flames were quickly brought under control after firefighters arrived on scene, but not before the building filled with smoke.

Additional fire department resources from Fairfax County and Fort Myer were requested to assist with the firefighting and subsequent ventilation efforts.

The church is set to be torn down and replaced with an affordable housing development with a new worship space. Its congregation has temporarily moved to the Arlington United Methodist Church (716 S. Glebe Road) in the Alcova Heights neighborhood.

In June we reported that the preschool’s lease had been extended through December, ahead of the planned demolition.

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