Two people died and five others were hurt in a two-alarm fire that ripped through a row house in northwest D.C. early Wednesday morning.
The fire broke out overnight in the 1600 block of Riggs Place NW, about halfway between Dupont and Logan circles. Firefighters were called at about 2:30 a.m.
"The flames were shooting out of the rooftop," said Michael Upright, who serves as the area's Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. "It was pretty bad. They had firemen on the roof of that house and the next two houses down."
The victims' identities have not been released.
Those injured in the fire were two civilians and three firefighters. The firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Upright said he woke up to the sirens and was up all night.
"To me, that's very sad and very tragic that this happened," he said. "I find it very rare that a fire of this magnitude happened."
Another neighbor saw a person in the burning row house break through a window and jump out.
The cause of the fire is not known at this time. The fire gutted the three-story house. Fire investigators are going through what's left, trying to learn how the blaze began.
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D.C. police officers and ATF officers were also called to the scene, which is standard procedure.
