Fire Causes Major Damage to High-Rise Building

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A fire in a high-rise office building near Dulles Airport on Tuesday night caused about $2 million in damage and led to the evacuation of about 50 workers.

There were no injuries in the blaze, which started in a first-floor “battery room,” according to the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department. A security guard in the 10-story building called 911 after hearing an explosion.

Arriving on the scene at about 7:45 p.m., firefighters and rescue personnel found an electrical transformer on fire outside the building, the fire department said.

The building at 13820 Sunrise Valley Drive is the headquarters of Time-Warner, according to media reports. It is just south of the interchange of Route 28 and the Dulles Toll Road near Herndon.

The firefighters also encountered heavy smoke coming from the lower level of the building, with flames coming from the battery room.

The incident commander sounded a second alarm, bringing more than 60 firefighters to the scene, the fire department said. There were about 50 employees in the building when the fire broke out, and the firefighters ensured all occupants got out.

The firefighters contained the blaze to the battery room and the transformer; it didn’t spread to other parts of the building, the fire department said. The building’s automatic fire alarm activated, as well as one sprinkler head, which helped contain the blaze.

The fire department estimated that damage to the building totals $2 million. According to fire investigators, the blaze was accidental. They traced the cause to an “electrical event” in the control module of the building’s power supply.