1 Year Ago: South Alex Fire Causes $48 Million In Damages

GROVETON, VA — Fairfax County Fire and Rescue is remembering the one-year anniversary of the South Alex development fire, which became the county's largest dollar loss fire in history.

Over $48 million in damages had been reported after the Feb. 8, 2020 fire in the 2800 block of Poag Street. Those damages included the total loss of main buildings under construction, 14 townhouses, and one trailer. There was also damage to five apartment buildings, 14 additional townhouses, four single-family homes, 29 vehicles and construction equipment. The fire department reported two firefighter injuries and one other injury.

Smoke from the fire was visible in surrounding communities as the fire went to four alarms, drawing a response from fire departments in Fairfax County, Alexandria, Arlington County, Prince George's County and Fort Belvoir. Because the buildings were under construction, there was no sprinkler system in place, and firefighters were also tasked with the difficulty of windy weather conditions during the response. Units worked to extinguish the fire in the buildings under construction and prevent it from spreading to nearby occupied residential buildings.

Investigators determined improperly discarded smoking materials caused the fire in a second-floor trash chute. A worker at the construction site noticed the fire in a trash chute and unsuccessfully tried to put it out before evacuating.

After the fire, Combined Properties posted a statement vowing to "rebuilding and fulfilling our commitment to this neighborhood." South Alex will have residential and retail uses anchored by an Aldi store. The development had an original target date for completion in 2021. As reported by Alexandria Times in October 2020, Combined Properties' new target date is as early as 2022 or 2023.