Correction appended
No residents were injured in a fire in the Avalon apartments on Massachusetts Avenue Feb. 12, but one firefighter was transported to the hospital for chest pain.
All residents were evacuated outside into below-freezing weather for about 45 minutes after two fire alarms were pulled.
The fire started in a kitchen on the second floor and did not spread beyond the unit. Fifth Battalion Fire Chief Jeffrey Herbert said he would not describe the blaze as “small,” but as a “working fire” with heavy smoke conditions.
“Everything was black,” said Sabrina Naimark, who lives down the hall from the fire’s origin. “There was a lot of smoke.”
Responding units required both an attack line hose and backup line to extinguish the fire, Herbert said.
Once the situation was under control, the fire department tested the building for carbon monoxide before letting people back in.
Despite the all-clear, the Avalon lobby still reeked of smoke. The rug of the second floor hallway was soaked through and black ash dotted the walls.
Nine engine companies deployed to the scene, including four ladder trucks and five EMS units.
“They did a great job,” Herbert said. “The companies followed their protocol, put the fire out quickly and contained it to the apartment of origin.”
A portion of Massachusetts Avenue was blocked off during the operation, forcing commuters to reroute themselves.
Officers reopened the road at 4:15 p.m. and normal traffic patterns resumed.
Staff writer Zach C. Cohen and contributing writer Noah Gray contributed to this report.
llandau@theeagleonline.com
A previous version of this story story said MPD blocked off Massachusetts Avenue, but the fire department blocked off the street.
