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AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Dumpster fire prompts evacuation at Varsity on K

D.C.+FEMS+spokesperson+Vito+Maggiolo+said+responders+were+concerned+the+fire+could+enter+the+building+through+a+window%2C+but+they+extinguished+the+blaze+before+it+could+spread+any+further.
Anthony Peltier | Photographer
D.C. FEMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said responders were concerned the fire could enter the building through a window, but they extinguished the blaze before it could spread any further.

About 40 D.C. firefighters responded to a dumpster fire outside Varsity on K Sunday, where residents evacuated the building and filed along 24th Street, watching smoke fill a nearby alleyway.

The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services dispatched an engine company with 12 vehicles to the fire burning in a large dumpster adjacent to a building at about 5:20 p.m., D.C. FEMS spokesperson Vito Maggiolo said. He said responders were concerned the fire could enter the building through a window but they extinguished the blaze before it could spread any further.

“They had a large dumpster that was adjacent to a building, and there was potential that it might be spreading through a window into the building,” Maggiolo said. “So they called for additional resources.”

Maggiolo said the fire triggered a box alarm that required a larger response from D.C. FEMS, with about 12 vehicles and 40 firefighters. No one was injured at the scene, Maggiolo said.

D.C. FEMS first reported the fire with a tweet at 5:29 p.m.

Residents and onlookers outside the building said about 20 to 30 people were evacuated during the incident.

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About the Contributor
Zach Blackburn, Editor in Chief
Zach, a senior majoring in political communication, is the 2023-24 editor in chief of The Hatchet. He previously served as senior news editor and assistant news editor of the Metro beat. He hails from West Columbia, South Carolina.
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