The Arlington County Fire Department responds to a call in Shirlington in Oct. 2019 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Arlington County fire marshals are investigating a vehicle fire in the Shirlington area that might have been deliberately set.
The incident happened this past Friday morning on the 4500 block of 31st Street S., between the Shirlington and Fairlington neighborhoods.
“The Arlington County Fire Department (ACFD), Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM) is investigating a vehicle fire that occurred at approximately 6:00 a.m. on the morning of June 30,” Capt. Nathaniel C. Hiner tells ARLnow. “The ACFD arrived on the scene of the fire and found a black BMW X5 completely engulfed in fire. The OFM has determined the fire to be suspicious in nature and is asking nearby residents that may have any information that could benefit the investigation to please contact Deputy Fire Marshal Ryan Murphy [at] [email protected].”
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
The Office of the Fire Marshal is seeking assistance regarding a suspicious vehicle fire. The fire took place on 6/30/23 between 5:45am – 6:45 am in the 4500 block of 31st Street S. Anyone with information is asked to contact DFM R. Murphy – [email protected]pic.twitter.com/Q2plgYpvoI
— Arlington Fire & EMS (@ArlingtonVaFD) July 2, 2023
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) Firefighters battled a vehicle blaze atop the Pentagon City mall parking garage early this afternoon.
Initial reports suggest that multiple vehicles are engulfed in flames on the third level of the large garage. As of 1:15 p.m., the bulk of the fire was said to be out.
A cloud of smoke could be seen rising from the garage, access to which has been blocked off by police and fire personnel.
So far no injuries have been reported. At least five vehicles were damaged, according to scanner traffic.
The fire alarm went off at the mall during the incident, at a time when it was packed with visiting groups.
“[The] mall was filled with school groups that evacuated,” a tipster told ARLnow, adding that “burning rubber could be smelled on the bottom floor of the mall.”
UPDATE: Fire is out, crews are in the process of checking for any additional hot spots and performing ventilation.
A car is fully engulfed in flames behind Mrs. Chen’s Kitchen restaurant on Columbia Pike.
Firefighters are currently on the scene, on the 3100 block of the Pike, working to extinguish the vehicular inferno in the rear of the long-time Chinese eatery.
No injuries have been reported. The vehicle is said to be a gray BMW.
A car fire has shut down all lanes of S. Fillmore Street just south of Route 50.
Firefighters are currently dousing the fire in the engine compartment of the sedan — possibly a Kia — with water.
The road will likely remain at least partially blocked until a wrecker can tow away the scorched vehicle.
In a separate vehicular incident, police and firefighters are currently responding to the area of the intersection of Langston Blvd and N. Harrison Street for a report of an elderly driver who ran into the column of a building.
Update at 6:30 p.m. — The following video from social media shows the vehicle that ran into a storefront at the Lee-Harrison Shopping Center being towed away.
Rosslyn at lunchtime (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
County Board’s APS Covid Concern — “Is the Arlington school system inadvertently encouraging parents to not report COVID-like symptoms among students? That’s the concern of a number of County Board members, who say the current testing requirements make it more likely parents will stay mum rather than go to the hassle of getting their children checked out.” [Sun Gazette]
Big Vehicle Fire Shuts Down Route 50 — From Dave Statter on Saturday night: “Some fuzzy traffic-cam video showing a vehicle fire that has all lanes of Route 50 eastbound shut prior to Pershing. @ArlingtonVaFD & @ArlingtonVaPD handling.” [Twitter]
Police Upping Seat Belt Enforcement — “The high-visibility national seat belt campaign, Click It or Ticket, which coincides with the Memorial Day holiday, runs from May 23 through June 6, 2022, and works towards reducing the number of fatalities that occur when drivers and passengers fail to buckle up.” [ACPD]
‘Salt Line’ Makes WaPo Dining Guide — “Well-shucked oysters, fluffy Parker House rolls, a comfortable room staged with nautical mementos: Just about everything that helps pack ’em in at the Salt Line in Navy Yard can be found at its young spinoff in Ballston. Really, the only ingredient missing from the original is a water view, although if you squint from a table inside, you can imagine boats and waves beyond the already-popular outdoor patio.” [Washington Post]
Worries About the Local Water Supply — “A train crash, a power plant discharge, an underwater pipeline rupture — or an act of terrorism — could cripple the drinking water supply of the nation’s capital. And there’s no Plan B. D.C. and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs are dependent on the Potomac River as the main — or sole — source of drinking water.” [WTOP]
Annual Street Sweeping Starting Soon — From Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services: “Another round of Arlington street sweeping starts next month. Last year, 9,178 lane miles were cleaned for smoother rides and a healthier Chesapeake watershed.” [Twitter]
Beyer Banned from Russia — From Rep. Don Beyer: “A new Kremlin list of people banned from traveling to Russia just dropped; I am less interested than they might think in traveling to a country that is indiscriminately bombing Ukrainian civilians.” [Twitter]
APS Graduations at Constitution Hall — “Arlington Public Schools plans on having graduation ceremonies for its three main high schools back in their traditional spot – D.A.R. Constitution Hall – for the first time since 2019.” [Sun Gazette]
Lane Closures for Building Demolition — From the City of Falls Church: “From Sun 5/22 thru Thu 5/26, select lanes will be closed 9PM to 5:30AM while the building on the corner of Broad St. and Washington St. is demolished.” [Twitter]
It’s Monday — Partly sunny, with a high near 73 and a slight chance of showers later in the afternoon. [Weather.gov]
Car fire after crash on S. Joyce Street (photo courtesy anonymous)
A beemer barbecue following a single-vehicle crash closed part of S. Joyce Street near Pentagon City this morning.
The circumstances leading to the crash, which heavily damaged the BMW before it burst into flames, are unclear. The crash happened around 6 a.m. and left the male driver with facial injuries, according to scanner traffic.
The driver was reportedly able to get out the car before firefighters arrived on scene. He was brought to a local hospital for treatment.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze shortly after their arrival. Both lanes of S. Joyce Street heading from Army Navy Drive to Columbia Pike were blocked by the emergency response and cleanup.
Update at 8:45 a.m. — S. Joyce Street has reopened, per scanner traffic.
Response to car fire in Courthouse on Sunday afternoon (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
A car fire behind a row of restaurants in Courthouse prompted evacuations and road closures, but was quickly extinguished.
The fire broke out behind TNR Cafe, on the 2000 block of Wilson Blvd, around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The carbeque sent smoke into the air and into nearby buildings — and reportedly prompted the evacuation of Ireland’s Four Courts.
Arlington County firefighters made quick work of the blaze, however, allowing the mid-afternoon bar-going crowds to continue their revelry and traffic to continue flowing on Wilson Blvd.
LOCATION: Wilson Blvd / Troy St INCIDENT: Fire Department Activity IMPACT: Wilson Blvd is shut down at Troy St. Seek alternative routes. pic.twitter.com/Y6E3p1c14v
Jerome Bracey hangs an ornament on the tree in the plaza at Westpost, also known as Pentagon Row (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Carbeque on I-395 — A car was engulfed in flames on I-395 near Shirlington Circle last night. Southbound and HOV lanes were blocked as firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze. Most lanes reopened by 8:30 p.m. [Twitter, Twitter]
YHS Runner Advances to National Meet — “Yorktown High School’s Owen McArdle has qualified to run in a national-championship race. By virtue of finishing fifth in 15:05.49 at the Eastbay South Regional boys championship high-school cross country meet, the senior earned a spot in Eastbay’s boys national meet Dec. 11 in San Diego. The top 10 finishers in region meets earn a berth to race in the nationals. The winning time at the South Region meet was 15:00.31.” [Sun Gazette]
Arlington Records More Opioid Deaths — ” In an already deadly year for overdoses, Arlington County recorded at least two more opioid-related fatalities since the Thanksgiving holiday. Out of the 149 overdoses in the county (as of Nov. 26), 26 of them were deadly, according to the Arlington County opioid incident data. The 2021 numbers have surpassed the total for 2020.” [WUSA 9]
D.C. Area Home Prices Keep Rising — “The median price of single-family homes in the Washington region posted a double-digit year-over-year increase in the third quarter, but its bump up was below that of the nation as a whole. With a median sales price of $548,600 across the D.C. metro region, the area’s single-family home price rose 11.5 percent from the same July-August-September period in 2020, according to new data from the National Association of Realtors.” [Sun Gazette]
It’s December — The first day of December (today) will be warmer than the last days of November. The kickoff of meteorological winter will be mostly sunny, with a high near 52. Sunrise at 7:08 a.m. and sunset at 4:46 p.m. There is a chance of rain between 8 p.m. tonight and 8 a.m. Thursday. Otherwise, Thursday will be partly sunny, with a high near 61, and a southwest wind 6 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph. [Weather.gov]
Prelude to Speed Cameras in Arlington — “This week the D.C. region’s Transportation Planning Board announced it is awarding a $60,000 grant to help Arlington with its plans to install the first-ever speed cameras in the county. The TPB says the money will go towards consulting services to help Arlington County install speed cameras in a fair, data-driven manner.” [WJLA]
NAACP Wanted Stronger Police Oversight — “Despite the County Board’s recent adoption of a Community Oversight Board (COB) ordinance, we are disappointed that the County Board refused to adopt the General Assembly-approved authority for the COB to be truly independent and to make binding disciplinary determinations. Nevertheless, we will work with all parties to ensure that the process is equitable and transparent.” [Press Release]
Judge’s Ruling on Rouse Estate Suit — “On May 14, Reeder filed a challenge to the county board’s rejection of local historic district status that some hoped would have protected the now-demolished 160-year-old Febrey-Lothrop house… Judge DiMatteo said Reeder faced ‘an uphill battle.’ The community ‘is not voiceless,’ she said. A community member can speak to board members and, if one doesn’t like their decision, ‘vote them out.’ But without standing, that party can’t appeal in court. Virginia law, she said, requires an ‘aggrieved party.’ She rejected Reeder’s claim.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Friday Carbeque on Route 29 — “Video from van fire and fuel leak impacting traffic on eastbound Lee Highway at Kirkwood.” [Twitter, Twitter]
GOP Blasts County for Biden Event — “Arlington County is misusing taxpayer resources and county bandwidth to actively promote a partisan campaign rally. One-party rule in Arlington continues to produce a lack of accountability for our elected leaders and county officials. Not only are they actively promoting a political event, they also went a step further to link to the event RSVP page.” [Press Release]
Guess the Price of This House — “The beauty of this 5,227 square-foot lot in Arlington, VA, is in its simplicity. Along with being a short Uber ride to Washington, DC, amenities include: Attached garage with one parking space, Big trees, Water heater (not new, just one in general), Great location to build on if you’re cool with bulldozing the home. How much for the world’s most average house?” [Morning Brew, Zillow]
Reminder: Vote in This Week’s Arlies — Do you have a favorite preschool or daycare you take your children to? Cast your vote in this week’s Arlies category by midday tomorrow. [ARLnow]
A car caught fire in the middle of a Columbia Pike intersection last night.
The carbeque happened around 8:30 p.m. Monday at the intersection of the Pike and S. Jefferson Street, near Arlington’s western border. Video shared with ARLnow (below) shows the car being driven while flames shoot from the engine compartment, before it finally comes to a stop and the flames and smoke intensify.
The car was fully engulfed, sending a column of dark smoke into the sky, by the time firefighters arrived on scene. Local residents gathered to watch the firefighting effort.
The video-taker said firefighters arrived remarkably quickly.
“They showed up almost immediately and quickly took care of the situation,” he said. “They seriously showed up within 5 minutes… the Arlington [County] Fire Department is seriously awesome.”
Both eastbound lanes of Columbia Pike were blocked for nearly an hour due to the blaze and the subsequent cleanup.
LOCATION: Columbia Pike/Jefferson St INCIDENT: Fire Department Activity IMPACT: Both E/B Lanes of Columbia Pike are blocked due to fire department activity. Seek an alternate route if possible. pic.twitter.com/ByuUBgd5QQ
APS to Offer Coronavirus Testing — “Beginning the week of April 19, APS will begin providing free medical testing for students and staff who are symptomatic, or who have been exposed to COVID-19. Walk-up testing will be conducted after school hours with parent/guardian consent. Walk-up testing sites at Glebe Elementary, Kenmore Middle and Wakefield High Schools provide trained staff to assist in mid-nasal swab testing using the RT-PCR test after school hours.” [Arlington Public Schools]
New DCA Concourse Opening Next Week — “The shuttle buses will soon be relocated to Philadelphia. And the air stairs, no more. After nearly 25 years, officials at Reagan National Airport on Thursday unveiled a much-anticipated addition, a sleek 14-gate concourse that will mark the end of operations of the much-maligned Gate 35X. American Airlines will begin service Tuesday out of the new concourse.” [Washington Post, NBC 4, DCist]
New Concessions Coming to DCA — Timber Pizza Co. and Peet’s Coffee are among the new food and drink options coming to National Airport and its new concourse. [Twitter, Twitter]
Group Rallies for Affordable Housing –“I’m at a rally hosted by the ACE Collaborative, community organizers who work with Asian American residents in Arlington. They’re in [Pentagon City] this evening, asking the county to take steps to end displacement as rents rise. In the immediate term, the group is calling for the county to add $8 million to its housing grant program in the next budget.” [Twitter]
Car Fire on GW Parkway — “ACFD is on scene of a vehicle fire on the GW Parkway near Spout Run. The vehicle is fully engulfed in flames, per the first arriving firefighters.” [Twitter, Twitter]
Animal Control Saves Turtle — “We need to thank Officer Davis for helping this snapping turtle, who was trying to cross I-395 during rush hour. Thankfully, she was able to safely remove him, bring him to the shelter for a check-up, and then release him back into the wild where he belongs!” [Twitter]
