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Improperly discarded fireworks caused Herndon house fire, $371k in damages

A fire broke out in a home on Stuart Court in Herndon around midnight on July 5 (via FCFRD)

Improperly discarded fireworks from a Fourth of July celebration were the cause of a Herndon house fire that resulted in $371,290 in damages.

The fire broke out around 12:55 a.m. in the 600 block of Stuart Court in Herndon, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

A dozen people were home at the time of the fire and safely evacuated the two-story house. One individual was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital.

Investigators have determined that the fire started accidentally near a sliding glass door inside the screen-in patio, where fireworks were improperly discarded, according to the FCFRD.

“Smoke alarms were present, but activated after the fire was discovered,” the department said.

All 12 occupants have been displaced by the fire, which was one of several blazes that firefighters had to address the night of July 4.

A second house fire in the Fair Oaks area caused a reported $1 million in property damages. The cause in that incident remains under investigation.

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Child hospitalized by car crash on Richmond Highway in Groveton

Fairfax County police investigate a vehicle crash at Richmond Highway and Holly Hill Road in Groveton (via FCPD/Twitter)

(Updated at 3 p.m.) A child was taken to the hospital last night (Tuesday) after a car crash on Richmond Highway in the Groveton area.

Police and Fairfax County Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to the intersection of Richmond Highway (Route 1) and Holly Hill Road around 8:53 p.m., according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

According to police, Jermaine Ridgely, 45, of Alexandria was driving north on Route 1 in a 2003 Infiniti when he hit a southbound 2010 Nissan Altima that was turning left into a parking lot in the 7100 block of Richmond Highway.

“A juvenile passenger in the Nissan Altima was seriously injured in the crash and was taken to an area hospital in life-threatening condition,” the Fairfax County Police Department said, noting that a medic with the fire department “witnessed the crash and immediately rendered medical aid.”

The child remains hospitalized, police said in an update today.

Scanner traffic suggested one other person was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, but no other injuries were mentioned in the police news release.

Ridgely was arrested and faces a charge for driving under the influence, along with a citation for failing to obey a highway sign.

“Preliminarily, detectives believe speed and alcohol were contributing factors in the crash,” the FCPD said.

Ridgely is currently being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond. An investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Photo via FCPD/Twitter

Fourth of July house fire in Fair Oaks cost $1 million, fire department says

Fairfax County firefighters respond to a house fire in the 12300 block of Firestone Court in Fair Oaks (via FCFRD)

Damages from a house fire in the Fair Oaks Chase neighborhood on the Fourth of July topped $1 million, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.

Two people were displaced by the two-alarm fire in the 12300 block of Firestone Court, one of two house fires put out on a busy Tuesday night for the FCFRD.

Fairfax County firefighters were dispatched to the blaze at 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Units from the City of Fairfax Fire Department and Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue also responded to provide assistance.

“Units arrived on the scene of a two-story, single-family home with heavy fire showing from the garage and extending into the attic,” the FCFRD said in a news release on Friday (July 7). “Crews quickly initiated firefighter operations to extinguish the fire. A second alarm was called to bring more resources to the scene.”

Both residents were home at the time of the fire and managed to self-evacuate, according to the fire department. They were taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

The FCFRD said it has determined that the fire started in the garage, but the cause is still under investigation.

The department estimates that the fire resulted in approximately $1,068,000 in property damages.

The FCFRD reported two house fires, one apartment fire and nine outdoor fires on the night of Independence Day.

The second house fire occurred after midnight in the 650 block of Stuart Court in Herndon and led to one person being hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. As of Wednesday (July 5), investigators hadn’t established a cause.

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Fires at abandoned house in Oakton still under investigation

Fairfax County fire investigators are still looking to determine the cause of a May 27 fire at an abandoned house in Oakton (via FCFRD)

Fairfax County fire investigators still trying to determine what caused a blaze at a vacant house in Oakton over a month after it occurred.

Firefighters were dispatched to the 2300 block of Hunter Mill Road at 7:35 a.m. on Saturday, May 27, “for reports of an outside fire,” according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department.

“Upon arrival, crews discovered an abandoned house and shed fully engulfed in flames. Crews battled the fire until it was brought under control,” the department said in a report on Monday (July 3).

No injuries were reported, but the fire caused an estimated $144,210 in damages.

According to the department, investigators have determined that the fire started at two different spots in the main house and the shed on the property.

“The cause of the fire remains under investigation,” the FCFRD said.

The department didn’t specify what factors are contributing to the extended investigation, but a spokesperson told FFXnow said there have been no new updates since the blog post was published on Monday.

The FCFRD has responded to more than a dozen fires over the past couple of days. In addition to 12 different fires on the night of the Fourth of July, there was a townhouse fire in Centreville and an apartment fire in the Fair Oaks area last night (Wednesday).

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Multiple people injured in house fires on Fourth of July

A fire broke out in a home on Stuart Court in Herndon around midnight (via FCFRD/Twitter)

The Fourth of July kept the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department busy, as at least three people were injured in fires that cropped up overnight.

One person was injured in a fire that broke out in Herndon around midnight today (Wednesday).

The fire engulfed the home on the 650 block of Stuart Court shortly after July 4 celebrations wrapped up in the area.

One individual was hospitalized for non-life threatening injuries, according to the FCFRD.

A spokesperson for FCFRD told FFXnow that the cause of the fire is not yet known.

“Fire investigators are still conducting their investigation. I do not have a cause at this time,” the spokesperson said.

A resident reported that Fourth of July fireworks were underway in the neighborhood, but it’s unclear for now whether those were connected to the fire at all.

The fire was one of nine outside fires, two house fires and one apartment fire that broke out on or around July 4, the fire department reported.

Another two people were hospitalized for non-life-threatening injuries in a two-alarm house fire on the 12300 block of Firestone Court in the Fair Oaks area around midnight.

While the cause of the fires is currently unknown, the FCFRD encouraged the community to properly dispose of fireworks by completely soaking them in a bucket of water overnight before getting rid of them.

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Grill grease behind McLean house fire that displaced four people

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue responds to a house fire in the 6000 block of Chesterbrook Road in McLean (via FCFRD)

Four McLean residents lost their home last week in a fire that investigators say was ignited by grease on an outdoor grill.

The fire started accidentally in the 6000 block of Chesterbrook Road on June 2 when grease that had accumulated on the back patio grill ignited, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported yesterday (Thursday).

FCFRD firefighters and units from the Arlington County Fire Department were dispatched to the single-family house at 6:24 p.m. after the residents evacuated and called 911.

“Units arrived on the scene to find a large volume of fire coming from the back of a two-story, single-family home and extending up to the attic,” the department said. “Crews quickly initiated firefighting operations to contain and extinguish the fire.”

No injuries were reported, but in addition to displacing all four residents, the fire resulted in an estimated $483,060 in property damages, according to the FCFRD.

“Smoke alarms were present, but it is unknown if they activated after the fire extended to the house,” the fire department said.

Photo via FCFRD

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Firefighters contain large blaze at Lorton landfill off Richmond Highway

The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responds to a landfill fire in Lorton (via FCFRD/Twitter)

(Updated at 12:40 p.m.) A massive fire broke out last night (Monday) at the Rainwater Landfill on Richmond Highway in Lorton, occupying Fairfax County firefighters for hours.

As of 9 a.m., the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department remains on scene in the 9900 block of Richmond Highway after units were dispatched to a reported outside fire at 11:03 p.m.

The department reported at 5:47 a.m. that the fire had been contained, but smoke was still visible from Route 1 and I-95.

Given the size of the fire, it will be at least 24 hours before investigators can determine a cause, FCFRD spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt told FFXnow.

“The fire was contained to the landfill,” Hildebrandt said, describing the site as an area for construction debris rather than a trash landfill.

Established in 1969, Rainwater Topsoil & Recycled Concrete provides mulch, soil, construction and other debris disposal services to Northern Virginia, according to its website.

The mulch section of the landfill appears to have been most affected, since the fire department says the site is “mainly logs & brush.”

“Due to the amount of smoke generated, HazMat units conducted atmospheric monitoring. All readings are within normal levels,” the FCFRD said at 12:25 p.m.

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Rideshare driver killed in crash with deer on Dulles Access Road in Tysons

The Dulles Access Road west of the Capital Beltway (via Google Maps)

A man died after hitting a deer on the Dulles Airport Access Highway in Tysons last night (Wednesday).

Police responded to the westbound lanes about a mile west of the Capital Beltway (I-495) for a single-vehicle crash around 8:17 p.m., says the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which has jurisdiction over the Dulles Access Road.

Upon arriving, officers found the adult, male driver dead in the vehicle, which police described as a “ride-share Toyota minivan.”

An injured passenger was transported to Reston Hospital Center by the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, according to scanner traffic. Police confirmed that the passenger was a rideshare customer.

“Airport-bound traffic was detoured to the Dulles Toll Road during the accident reconstruction,” MWAA said.

Map via Google Maps

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Fire engine that hit woman in Reston didn’t see her in road, police say

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department (file photo)

The driver of a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue engine who struck and killed a woman on Glade Drive in Reston did not see the woman lying in the roadway, police say.

Preliminarily, investigators believe that speed was not a factor in the crash, which happened shortly after 2:18 am yesterday (Monday), the Fairfax County Police Department said in a news release.

According to the FCPD, the police and fire departments received a call that a woman who appeared to be intoxicated was lying on the ground west of Laurel Glade Court. The officer who arrived first at the scene did not see the woman lying in the roadway, passing her to talk to the person who made the 911 call.

The driver of the fire engine followed the officer. The captain saw the woman and “immediately” called on the engine to stop and turn, but the driver was unable to avoid the crash, police said.

“Fire and rescue personnel immediately began to provide advanced medical care,” the FCPD said.

The woman was identified as Ashley Boardman, 23, of Middleburg. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Police say they are still investigating “if drugs or alcohol were factors for Boardman,” who had reportedly been found unconscious by the caller, according to the initial police dispatch.

Boardman is now the fourth pedestrian to be killed on Fairfax County roads this year. At this time in 2022, there had been six fatal pedestrian crashes, per the FCPD.

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BREAKING: Pedestrian dies after crash involving fire engine in Reston

Fairfax County Fire and Rescue engine lights (file photo)

A pedestrian was killed after being run over by a fire engine near the Reston Glade Apartments early this morning (Monday).

A medical unit with the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched to Glade Drive at Dosnia Court near Dogwood Elementary School for a medical emergency around 2:19 a.m., according to scanner traffic on Open MHz.

Around the same time, Fairfax County police officers were dispatched to Dogwood Elementary School for a “suspicious person” after a caller reported an apparently unconscious woman on the ground.

At 2:24 a.m., a fire department responder told the dispatcher that the “patient’s in the road, run over by engine 31. Appears to be DOA.”

A police officer said at 2:30 a.m. that the road would need to be shut down.

“The fire truck actually struck this individual,” the officer said.

Detectives with the FCPD’s Crash Reconstruction Unit were sent to the scene of what it described as a “fatal pedestrian crash involving @ffxfirerescue,” the department tweeted shortly after 4 a.m.

Glade Drive was closed for over an hour between Laurel Glade Drive and Rosedown Drive.

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