At least one person has critical burns after a food truck caught fire on the campus of George Washington University. News4’s Shomari Stone has more on the safety concerns the fire has raised.
Three people are hurt, two critically, after a food truck caught fire Wednesday afternoon on the George Washington University campus, officials said.
The food truck caught fire on the 2100 block of H Street NW, where several food trucks often park outside the Gelman Library.
D.C. Fire and EMS was called to the scene at 2 p.m.
Three employees of the food truck, which had The Falafel Bus printed on it, were taken to hospitals with burns. A man and a woman suffered critical but non-life-threatening injuries, a D.C. fire department representative said. A second woman received less serious injuries.
The fire sent a plume of dark smoke into the sky west of downtown D.C. The blaze caused severe damage inside the food truck, which was a converted school bus.
The House of Falafel, which runs The Falafel Bus, did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Posts to the Twitter account for the university library said that for a period no one was allowed to enter or exit. The library then reopened as normal.
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I Street NW was closed at 22nd Street NW.
A man working inside a food truck directly behind the House of Falafel described the frightening moments the truck caught fire.
"We were scared. We were concerned about our livelihoods and we were concerned about the people who were on the truck. So, at that point, we evacuated as quickly as possible," said Matt Dang.
"Absolute shock," said Schuyler Cottrell, a George Washington University student. "I go there at least once a week to eat. So, my first thought was, 'Are the people inside OK?' I understand that this is their business, this is their livelihood, but are those people OK?"
Information on the cause of the fire was not available immediately.
Najiba Hlemi, the director of DMV Food Truck Association, said food trucks must pass health inspection every two years and a safety inspection once a year. Hlemi did not yet know if the falafel truck had the proper inspections.
GW students have started a GoFundMe page to help the injured workers, which had collected more than $7,300 by midday Thursday.
Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
