D.C. Police say one person was killed — and four other people were rescued — in a southeast D.C. house fire Saturday morning.
The fire broke out in the 1200 block of Stevens Road SE, in the Barry Farms neighborhood, around 7 a.m. Firefighters found one person outside of the house but had to pull four others from the home.
Three adults and two children were hospitalized in critical condition, with injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to burns. One firefighter was also hurt in the rescue.
Later Saturday, D.C. fire officials and police confirmed that one of the patients had died. Late Saturday, that victim was identified as Mary Brooks, 54.
A witness described the dramatic scene: “There was crying, screaming, hollering, running … and police taped off a lot of the different sections to eliminate the crowds fast, but they still grew in number,” said the woman, who saw the blaze. “People were concerned.”
There is no word yet on the cause of the fire. Red Cross volunteers are assisting those who were displaced.
Curt Isakson is a 35 year veteran of the fire service. Curt is currently a Battalion Chief for Escambia County Fire Rescue. Previously worked 9 years with the Pensacola Fire Department where he was assigned as the Company Officer on Rescue 31. Curt’s fire service experiences started at a young age as a Junior firefighter with the Midway Fire Protection District and rose through the ranks to Captain. He has worked in volunteer, career, and combination departments.
Curt has held all ranks up to Battalion Chief and been assigned to operations, training, inspections, and was Chief of Special Operations for 7 years. Curt owns and operates County Fire Tactics that covers a very diverse range of fire service topics, as well as Firefighter Rescues, a site that documents rescues made by firefighters around the country.
He has annual contracts with numerous departments to provide standardized monthly training for these departments that respond daily together under an automatic aid agreement. Curt teaches nationally to include; FDIC, Firehouse Expo, Firehouse World, Orlando Fire Conference, Atlanta Fire Conference, Bowling Green State University, and owns/operates the annual HROC, COBC, WOTF, CFT ODP on Pensacola Beach. He is a Florida Certified Fire Officer, Instructor, Inspector, Arson, and FLUSAR.
