Four-Alarm Fire on Edsall Road Under Control

A four-alarm fire called in this afternoon at about 1:45 was brought under control at about 4:24 p.m. at an Edsall Road apartment complex.

At approximately 1:44 this afternoon, the fire department received numerous calls for an apartment fire in the 6000 block of Edsall Road, said Robert Rodriguez, the chief fire marshal and public information officer for the Alexandria Fire Department.

"Units arrived on the scene to report a fire coming from the rear of the structure," he said. "The second alarm was struck shortly thereafter."

When the fire broke out in the attic, the department struck the third alarm, he said, and the fourth alarm was established around 2:30 p.m. As of then, approximately 90 firefighters were on the scene, Rodriguez said. 

"The primary search of the building did not produce any victims," Rodriguez said around 2:30 p.m. "We have one firefighter with a minor injury that’s being transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

When firefighters arrived, they noticed fire in the front of an apartment complex building, on the second floor. The fire spread to the third floor. Eventually, firefighters from Arlington and Fairfax counties were called in to assist.

Rodriguez said up to 12 units in the complex have been affected. Around 3:15 p.m, firefighters had shifted from an offensive to a defensive posture on the fire. Rodriguez said the fire had not yet been brought under control.

Chief Fire Marshal Robert Rodriguez says the firefighters' job was made more difficult by a problem with low water pressure, which forced them to declare the fire a four-alarm fire. Upgrading the fire to four alarms brought more equipment to the scene.

The fire was officially brought under control at 4:24 p.m. The American Red Cross is assisting displaced residents, Rodriguez said. Neither firefighters nor the Red Cross had been able to assess damage to the building as of 4:30 p.m.

Because the fire closed part of Edsall Road, some students from Alexandria had difficulty getting home. Parents can check on their students by calling this number: 703-824-6635