Skip to main content

2 airport police officers injured, terminal evacuated after segway fire at Dulles International Airport

Dulles International Airport passengers preparing for departure were evacuated for roughly 90 minutes after a Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police scooter burst into flames inside the terminal. A spokesperson for the MWAA said the incident started at around 7:30 p.m. inside a departure terminal. For reasons not yet identified, an officer’s segway began to smoke before catching fire, creating a dark cloud inside the airport and injuring two officers. “As a safety precaution, passengers were evacuated from the departures level of the terminal,” agency spokesperson James Johnson said in an email to WTOP. The agency’s fire and rescue department responded to the blaze and began attempting to contain the smoke, venting it from other parts of the airport terminal. Meanwhile, officials had everyone on the departures levels of the main terminal evacuate the airport. The authority completed smoke ventilation and firefighting at around 9 p.m. Passengers and employees were allowed back into the building and, Johnson said, normal operations resumed. Additional delays related to the fire have not been shared with WTOP. Two Airport Authority police officers were reportedly taken to a local hospital for evaluation and are expected to be okay. No other injuries related to the fire were reported.

WTOP’s Nardos Mesmer contributed to this report.

Fairfax Co. seeks to exempt Potomac River to protect water if Va. declares drought emergency

Northern Virginia remains under a drought watch, and Fairfax County leaders want to make sure there’s enough drinking water to go around if Virginia declares a drought emergency. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized Chairman Jeff McKay to write to Governor Abigail Spanberger, to request that the Potomac River be excluded from a Virginia drought-specific declaration, since Fairfax Water is dependent on the Potomac as its drinking water supply.
Read Next Story