Columbia Pike has been closed for more than 12 hours near Bailey’s Crossroads after a vehicle crashed into a house and utility pole last night (Sunday), taking out the pole and, with it, the area’s electricity.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue investigators were dispatched to Columbia Pike at Powell Lane around 7:16 p.m. for the single-vehicle crash, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
Upon arriving at the scene, a responder reported to the dispatcher that one vehicle drove into a house, but there didn’t appear to be any structural damage.
“I do have a major power line blocking Columbia Pike in both directions,” he said.
No injuries were reported in the crash, but the downed utility pole resulted in power outages for 1,893 Dominion Energy customers, Dominion spokesperson Peggy Fox said shortly before 10 p.m.
The Fairfax County Police Department warned that the road closure would extend through the morning commute due to “extensive damage” at the Blair Road intersection.
As of 10:20 a.m., Columbia Pike remains closed in both directions, prompting the FCPD to advise drivers to find “an alternate route.” Dominion Energy still has 365 customers in Bailey’s Crossroads without power, according to the utility company’s outage map.
“We expect to bring power back by noon,” Fox said in a tweet. “Thanks for your patience. Avoid the area if possible.”
⚠ ROAD CLOSURE ⚠ Columbia Pike at Blair Rd in Baileys Crossroads is closed in both directions. A single vehicle crashed into a utility pole & house causing minor damage. No injuries to anyone involved. Downed powerlines expected to cause delays. Please use an alternate route. pic.twitter.com/LUAugSpWOM
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) February 12, 2024
Work repairing downed lines from vehicle crash into pole continues on Columbia Pike.
365 customer outages. We expect to bring power back by noon.
Thanks for your patience. 🙏🏻
Avoid the area if possible.https://t.co/jJaJ68yyu0— Peggy Fox (@PeggyDomEnergy) February 12, 2024
(Updated at 1:30 p.m.) An 8-inch natural gas line was ruptured near Westfield High School this morning (Wednesday), forcing a closure of Willard Road in Chantilly.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responders, including a hazmat team, were dispatched to the 14800 block of Willard Road around 10:26 a.m. for a “hazardous material emergency,” according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
There was “a significant leak” that would require a shutdown of both sides of Willard between Lee Road and Stonecroft Blvd, according to responders on the scene.
A hazmat worker said at 10:54 a.m. that the nearby CARSTAR Centreville Collision Center was evacuated after workers reported an odor, per the scanner. The worker later told the dispatcher that “no abnormal readings” were detected in the auto shop.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department initially said a 2-inch line had been struck, but after arriving at the scene, Washington Gas workers determined that the affected line was 8 inches wide.
An FCFRD spokesperson told FFXnow no other details about the cause of the struck gas line were available, as of 12:42 p.m.
The damage was caused by a third party, but there’s “no confirmation that it was from construction,” a Washington Gas spokesperson says.
“Crews on site shut gas off just after noon,” Washington Gas said. “No estimate has been given on repairs.”
The fire department said its units “will be on scene for an undetermined amount of time.” Community members are advised to find alternate travel routes.
UPDATE: @washingtongas is on scene. After further investigation they discovered an 8-inch gas line struck. #FCFRD will be on scene for an undetermined amount of time.
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 7, 2024
(Updated at 8:35 p.m.) The Towers Crescent office building in Tysons has been evacuated in response to a reported fire.
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to 8000 Towers Crescent Drive around 7:26 p.m. for the high-rise fire, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
Crews are currently evacuating the commercial building and investigating smoke on the ninth floor, the FCFRD tweeted at 7:46 p.m. The smoke was reported by the building’s security team, and an odor was confirmed by firefighters on the scene, per the scanner.
The cause has yet to be determined, but on the scanner, firefighters described the odor as “electrical” in nature.
“No firefighter injuries have been reported,” the department said. As of 8:15 p.m., there have been no reported civilian injuries either, a spokesperson told FFXnow.
The 17-story, Class A office building is topped by the 22,000-square-foot Towers Club, where a party with about 60 people had to be evacuated.
“They’re ready to leave,” a firefighter said on the scanner at 8:12 p.m.
It’s unclear how many people overall needed to be evacuated.
Units are on scene of a reported fire in a high-rise building in the 8000 blk of Towers Crescent Dr in the Tysons area. Crews are currently investigating smoke from the 9th floor. The building is being evacuated. No firefighter injuries have been reported. pic.twitter.com/ASlosEXVW1
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 1, 2024
(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) Two people died in separate house fires over the weekend, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.
The first fire occurred in the 3800 block of Kings Hill Court in Mount Vernon around 5:58 p.m. on Saturday (Jan. 20).
Summoned by a neighbor who saw a fire from the back of a two-story single-family house, firefighters arrived to see the blaze making its way from the first floor up to the second floor, according to an FCFRD press release.
After “quickly” extinguishing the fire, firefighters found a man described as elderly inside the house. He was taken with life-threatening injuries to a hospital, where he later died, the department said.
“The cause of death is pending an autopsy and toxicology report from the medical examiner,” the department said in a news release today (Monday). “There were no firefighter injuries.”
Investigators determined that the house had smoke alarms, but it’s unclear if they were triggered by the fire, which started in the living room.
The exact cause of the fire hasn’t yet been determined, according to the fire department. Some residents of the house who weren’t home at the time of the fire have been displaced.
The FCFRD estimates that the fire resulted in approximately $475,500 in property damages.
Just before 6pm this evening units from #FCFRD responded to a house fire in the 3800 blk of Kings Hill Ct. Crews arrived with fire showing. The fire is out. During fire attack crews located and rescued one occupant. The occupant has been transported to a nearby hospital. pic.twitter.com/vlh7Nr9VET
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) January 21, 2024
Later that evening, the fire department responded at approximately 11:23 p.m. to another fire at a two-story, single-family house, this time in the 8200 block of Mockingbird Drive in Annandale’s Wakefield neighborhood.
According to the FCFRD, arriving crews saw “heavy fire” visible from the house’s roof. A woman was found inside and taken to a hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
As in the Mount Vernon fire, no firefighter injuries were reported, and the woman’s cause of death will be officially determined by an autopsy and toxicology report from the medical examiner.
“The fire was called in by a neighbor who reported seeing flames from the roof of the home,” the FCFRD said. “The origin of the fire was within the attic space of the structure. The cause has been attributed to a fault within the electrical lighting branch circuit related to the second-floor bathroom.”
The Wakefield fire produced approximately $639,913 in damages, the fire department reported.
These are the first fatal fire incidents of 2024, but on Dec. 11, a man was found dead in a McLean house where a two-alarm fire broke out.
Units are on the scene of a house fire in the 8200 blk of Mockingbird Dr. Crews arrived with fire through the roof. The fire is out. During fire attack crews located and rescued one occupant. The occupant has been transported to a nearby hospital. Fire investigators are on scene. pic.twitter.com/dB9fOBhu5L
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) January 21, 2024
South Lakes High School was evacuated this morning (Wednesday) for what turned out to be a “small” fire in a bathroom, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.
Firefighters were dispatched to the school at 11400 South Lakes Drive in Reston around 8:45 a.m. for a building fire, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
A school resource officer reported that “a small fire in a metal bin in one of the bathrooms” had been put out, but a fire response was still needed to clear the scene.
“Crews located and quickly extinguished a small fire in a bathroom,” the FCFRD said. “The school was evacuated. No civilian or firefighter injuries.”
The police officer also said a medic was required for a student who had passed out in an incident that was unrelated to the fire. At 8:47 a.m., he reported that the student had regained consciousness but was not feeling well.
According to an FCFRD spokesperson, the situation is not life-threatening, and there’s no indication at this point that drugs were involved. The cause of the fire also hasn’t been determined yet.
#FCFRD units are on scene of a fire in the 11400 blk of South Lakes Dr (South Lakes High School) in Reston. Crews located and quickly extinguished a small fire in a bathroom. The school was evacuated. No civilian or firefighter injuries. @fcpsnews pic.twitter.com/QToWfnrU4G
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) January 3, 2024
For the first time in over four decades, Fairfax County’s police officers and firefighters got an opportunity this year to negotiate their pay, benefits and working conditions with the local government.
The collective bargaining process led to new contracts for Fairfax County Police Department and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department employees that union representatives and county leaders both lauded as meaningful wins for public safety workers.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted 9-1 on Dec. 5 to approve the agreements with the Fairfax chapter of the Southern States Police Benevolent Association (SSPBA) and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 2068, committing the board to making a “good faith” effort to funding the pay increases and other contractual obligations in the county’s next budget.
Set to retire at the end of this year, Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross called the collective bargaining agreements “the heaviest lift” of her 28 years as chair of the board’s personnel committee. Though there was interest in letting employees negotiate their contracts when she was first elected, Virginia didn’t give localities that authority until 2021.
“It took seven terms to get us there and a change in the General Assembly,” Gross said. “But I am very pleased we are where we are…I think we are now in a place where we will be able to move forward with our employees, especially for our [public] safety and firefighters, and this is a nice note to go out.”
What’s in the contracts
Gross and Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay credited IAFF Local 2068 as an early advocate for collective bargaining. The board approved an ordinance in October 2021 that gave police, firefighters and general county employees the ability to negotiate their contracts through a union, an option that Fairfax County Public Schools workers also secured this past March.
Key provisions of the Local 2068 agreement include a new pay plan with a higher starting salary and annual raises for the first 25 years of service, pay for training, an additional period of light duty for workers after a pregnancy and a pay incentive for higher education, according to IAFF Local 2068 President Robert Young.
The contract also lets the union create a committee to review and make recommendations on insurance coverage, and both parties agreed to form a Joint Labor Management Committee to recommend future contract changes — potentially including reduced work hours for FCFRD workers who go into the field. A study to determine the cost and a timeline for a reduction must be completed by Jan. 1, 2026.
“We believe that this contract will be a solid foundation for future negotiations and give us the ability to collaborate to resolve future issues,” Young said in a statement. “…We were able to forecast some future needs like work hours and some of our vendors for benefits.”
Young said he’s confident that the contract’s financial components will be funded in the fiscal year 2025 budget, which will start on July 1, after the county and union negotiators “spent several months working to deliver a contract that was fiscally responsible and resolved some of the issues our members faced.”
Ratified by union members on Nov. 8, the contract will be in effect from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2027. In addition to firefighters, medics, mechanics and other FCFRD personnel, it covers 911 call takers and dispatchers in the Department of Public Safety Communications.
On the police side, the SSPBA announced that its contract will increase officer pay by 12% over the next three fiscal years, provide “more equitable access” to leave and a more “streamlined” grievance process that includes the right of employees under investigation to be accompanied by a union steward. Read More
An explosion that occurred while firefighters were putting out a blaze at Build America Plaza in Bailey’s Crossroads in early November was caused by a backdraft, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.
Investigators have determined that the fire and “dramatic” explosion were accidental, resulting from degraded power lines that arced and sparked an “underground fire involving the insulation of adjacent communication lines,” the FCFRD reported today (Tuesday).
Firefighters were called to the shopping center at 3819 South George Mason Drive around 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 7 after 911 received reports of smoke in one of the commercial buildings.
“Crews arrived to find smoke in the building with no fire showing,” the fire department said, describing the incident as a “utility emergency.”
The building was evacuated, but when firefighters opened a door to a shed that appeared to be the source of the smoke, a fiery explosion engulfed them. Sharing a video of the incident, the FCFRD confirmed that the firefighters were okay.
No firefighter or civilian injuries were reported.
This evening #FCFRD responded to a utility emergency in the 3800 blk of S George Mason Dr. An explosion occurred while crews were working. Thankfully, our firefighter is okay. FCFRD FFs put their lives on the line everyday to protect the lives & property of @fairfaxcounty. pic.twitter.com/Odp5tBGz9C
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) November 8, 2023
Photo via FCFRD/Twitter
(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) A man was found dead in a McLean house where a two-alarm fire broke out this morning (Monday).
Several Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched at 9:15 a.m. to the house fire on Ridgeview Circle near Rosamora Court, according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.
“Crews are currently working to get the fire under control,” the FCFRD said.
Per the scanner, 911 received a call around 9:24 a.m. from someone who advised their ex-husband may be inside the house, and at 9:40 a.m., firefighters reported finding a victim on the second floor.
Since the incident is ongoing, a fire department spokesperson said they couldn’t yet confirm whether there were any occupants. However, the Fairfax County Police Department says a man was found dead, and its detectives were called to assist FCFRD with the investigation.
Fire units from Alexandria, Falls Church and Arlington were also spotted on the scene.
Units are on scene of a two-alarm fire in the 4000 blk of Ridgeview Circle in McLean. Crews are currently working to get the fire under control. pic.twitter.com/BkpwKGL2yQ
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) December 11, 2023
A vehicle fire has snarled rush-hour traffic on the Capital Beltway in Springfield.
A truck caught fire around Backlick Road just west of the Springfield Mixing Bowl, where I-495 meets I-395. The left and express southbound lanes on I-495 were closed for the fire, creating traffic backups that extended about two miles, as of 5:21 p.m., according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
The Virginia State Police confirmed that the fire wasn’t related to a crash, and no injuries have been reported.
There was no indication of what caused the fire, Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt told FFXnow.
As of 5:24 p.m., the fire had been extinguished, according to Hildebrandt.
Watch: This is the truck fire currently jamming the Capital Beltway (I-495S) heading from Braddock Rd to Springfield. @ffxfirerescue and @VSPPIO handling. Via @SafetyVid. @ffxnow @matthewyoung31 @CordellTraffic #safety #firefighters #traffic #vatraffic #truckfire pic.twitter.com/wJ6j2hg6lF
— Dave Statter (@STATter911) December 5, 2023
Springfield: SB 495 (Outer loop) just west of the Mixing Bowl, a vehicle fire blocks the left lanes and express lanes. One right lane gets by. Expect delays. pic.twitter.com/nuaGp3EmoT
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) December 5, 2023
Traffic camera photo via VDOT
A woman suffered serious injuries earlier this evening (Monday) when she was apparently hit by a Metrobus on Little River Turnpike.
“Officers are investigating a bus crash involving a pedestrian that occurred on Little River [Turnpike] and Hummer [Road] in Annandale,” the Fairfax County Police Department said. “The pedestrian, an adult female, was transported in life-threatening condition.”
Eastbound Little River Turnpike was shut down at Hummer.
First responders were dispatched to that intersection for the crash just before 10 p.m., according to scanner traffic on Open MHz. When police and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units arrived, the woman was found trapped under the front wheels of the bus.
“It does look like we’ve got one patient with severe head wounds. She is alert and conscious right now,” an FCFRD responder said at 10:04 p.m.
The fire department responder in command reported at 10:10 p.m. that the trapped woman was a pedestrian and the vehicle was a Metrobus.
Metro didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The woman was transported to Inova Fairfax Hospital with serious injuries. No passengers were on the bus, per the scanner.
Officers are investigating a bus crash involving a pedestrian that occurred on Little River Trpk and Hummer Rd in Annandale. The pedestrian, an adult female, was transported in life-threatening condition. EB Little River Trpk is closed at Hummer Rd. Please avoid the area #FCPD pic.twitter.com/QSivOK6VHa
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) December 5, 2023
WOMAN RUNOVER AND TRAPPED UNDER METROBUS— Little River Turnpike at Hummer Rd in Annandale. She was last reported conscious but with a severe head injury. She is under the front axle. Heavy-duty wreckers req'd to assist with rescue. #VATraffic #WMATA @MetroGuns pic.twitter.com/FwrdV2VczQ
— Alan Henney (@alanhenney) December 5, 2023
Map via Google Maps