2-Alarm Fire Fills Winston Education Center With Smoke

WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. Fire and EMS units responded to a two-alarm fire Saturday night in the gymnasium at the Winston Education Center in Southeast. No injuries were reported.

On Saturday, Feb 22, around 5:50 p.m., units were dispatched in response to a box alarm for a fire at the Winston Education Center, located at 31st and Erie Streets, S.E. Arriving on the scene, firefighters gained entry into the vacant school and encountered heavy smoke throughout the building.

"We stared to search for the source of the fire," said said Vito Maggiolo, D.C. Fire and EMS public information officer. "Because of the size of the building, the amount of smoke, and the unknown extent of the fire, the chief called for a second alarm."

The second alarm brought four more engines, two trucks, one heavy-rescue squad, the hazmat unit and additional senior staff to the scene of the fire. In total, approximately 20 pieces of equipment and 80 personnel responded to Saturday's fire.

Firefighters located the fire in the school gym, originating in the bleacher area.

"We were able to get hose lines in place, extinguish the fire which was confined primarily to the bleachers, and then the next challenge was removing smoke throughout the building," Maggiolo said. "We also had to search the building to make sure there were no trespassers who were staying inside who might've been trapped by the smoke."

Even though firefighters were able to completely extinguish the fire within about 30 minutes, they remained on the scene for several hours, searching the building and removing the smoke, according to Maggiolo. No one was found in the building and no injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and remains an active investigation.

"This was a disused school, so our investigators are looking at how this could have started," Maggiolo said.

Winston is a vacant former D.C. Public Schools facility. The D.C. Department of General Services, which handles all of the city's properties, is responsible for maintaining the building.