D.C. firefighters have issued the all clear after a fire inside the dome of a large, five-story water tank in Southeast D.C. on Friday.
The situation initially prompted a hazmat response, and D.C. Fire and EMS issued a shelter-in-place for a “minimal area” around the tank. However, officials later lifted the guidance and the fire eventually burned out on its own.
Around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, smoke was no longer coming from the tank dome and firefighters cleared all units from the scene, according to a tweet from D.C. Fire and EMS.
There were never plans to “attack the fire” by entering the tank, D.C. Fire spokesman Vito Maggiolo said earlier. Instead, crews monitored the situation, he said. By Friday afternoon, that effort had “downscaled” to just a few units, and later in the afternoon the fire dissipated, according to tweets from the department.
As for how it started, Maggiolo said a chemical was being used to remove paint from inside the dome when the fire broke out. One worker was hurt and taken to the hospital with injuries described as serious, but not life-threatening.
There’s no word yet on the cause of the fire.
John Lisle, a spokesman with DC Water, said the tank had been drained and was out of service when contractors were working to re-line the inside of the tank.
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report.
