Dear Community
Some may have heard about the fire on the basketball court of Mary McLeod Bethune charter school which spread to portions of ANC 5B's trailer office.
FYI update....
the office of ANC 5B suffered damage as a result of an outside fire which extended to our ANC 5B trailer office. Thankfully, firefighters from Engine 26 arrived promptly to put out was was described as a " a big fireball.
I received the call from my colleague Commissioner Ursula Higgins at 4:50pm, but, by then, I believe the fire was already doused, if certainly not already under control by Engine 26. Kudos to Engine 26's prompt handling! Sincere thank you to Sgt. Oliver Gaskins, DC Firefighter Matt Catton, DC Firefighter Ward Caddington and Fire Investigator Ann Guglik for their promptness and professionalism.
Preliminary oral information received from the fire department include;
1) the fire started from the rolled artificial grass left outside next to our ANC 5B trailer office on charter school property grounds spread to our office ("fire extension");
2) calls rec'd roughly 4:45pm/4:50pm-ish;
3) due to fire extension, the fire department had to break open the ANC office door & ANC window
4) fire damage occurred to metal;
5) public meeting area of ANC 5B's office sustained most damage;
6) investigator's preliminary report should be completed no later than the end of next week ;
7) the full report should be completed within 2-4 weeks;
8) ANC 5B can only obtain copy of both the preliminary and final reports from the Office of the Fire Marshall or FOIA; and
9) Interim Chief is Eugene Jones; Mark Wynn is the Fire Marshall.
Followup note from youth observer: While still at the ANC office site this evening speaking to constituents (roughly 7:30pm), a young male teen on a bicycle stopped by. The teen said “you should have seen this fire earlier.” He said that “the blaze was really something –the black smoke was a high as the clouds.” I asked him how did he know - did he see it. The youth said yes, that he was the one who call the fire department.
He explained that he met his friends at the basketball court – that when they arrived, there were already two male youth sitting on the artificial grass roll. He said he and his friends started playing basketball and at some point, the two guys sitting on the grass roll left (walking). The youth said maybe within 10-15 mins, he noticed fire and he told his friends he was leaving. The friends asked him why and he said because there is a fire. The young man said the fire blazed quickly and they were all running away. I said it looked to him that the fire was spreading fast from the grass to the trailer. I thanked him for calling the fire department. I did not ask his name or contact info.
Based on what the youth said, sounds like the fire may have been accidental but, clearly unknown at this juncture.
The Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANCs) are locally elected bodies which shall advise the Council of the District of Columbia, the Mayor and each executive agency, the Government of the District of Columbia, all independent agencies, boards and commissions with respect to all proposed matters of District of Columbia governmental policy including but not limited to decisions regarding planning, streets, recreation, social service programs, education, health, safety, and sanitation which affect the Commission area. In each of these areas, the intent of the ANC legislation is to ensure input from an advisory board that is made up of the residents of the neighborhoods that are directly affected by government action. The ANCs are the body of government with the closest official ties to the citizens in a neighborhood.
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