WASHINGTON — Two people were taken to the hospital after a fire engulfed a three-story town house in Northwest D.C., sending black smoke into the air that was visible for miles.

The fire started just before 7 a.m. at a house in the 1200 block of Rhode Island Avenue in Northwest D.C.

D.C. Fire and EMS spokesman Doug Buchanan said a man who jumped from a second-floor window to escape the flames was taken to the hospital with a broken leg. A second person was taken to the hospital with minor burns.

Firefighters got the blaze under control after about an hour, but were still knocking out hot spots around 8:30 a.m., Buchanan said.

Investigators are on the scene to determine the cause, which appears to be accidental.