Neighbors Concerned about Handling of Fire; Official Says Fire was Properly Managed

In the aftermath of the on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown, the next door neighbors are expressing frustration over the what they considered a lack of concern from Fire personnel and the property owner. Pete Piringer, spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS, however, said agency personnel responded quickly and performed the job as they were trained to: calmly.

Gisleide Oliveira lives in the home directly next to the gas station on Q Street. In an email to concerned friends, she wrote, the entire experience was "unpleasant" because she felt the response time was slow and that fire personnel were unconcerned with the fire potentially spreading to her home.

"I actually had to be involved, screaming to them to put water near our home because they only were caring about the fire on the Garage station."

Via email Piringer provided a detailed summary of the timeline for the response: "The first of many 911 calls reporting a fire at Wisconsin Ave and Q Street, NW came into the DC Office of Unified Communications (911) at 8:13:06 a.m. Within minutes, multiple calls were received for Wisconsin Avenue and Q Street, 1600 block of Wisconsin Avenue, several in the 1300 block Wisconsin Avenue, the 3200 block of Volta Street, Dumbarton Street and 35th Street to name a few."

DC Fire and EMS units were dispatched at 8:14:38 a.m., one minute and 32 seconds after the initial call on record. Engine Five from Dent Place arrived on the scene one minute and 50 seconds after the dispatch call and two minutes and 22 seconds after the initial 911 call.

Engine Five was "followed closely by many other DC Fire and EMS units, most of which were on the scene by 8:20 a.m." wrote Piringer in an email. Within 10 minutes of the dispatch call, some 30 personnel were at the scene.

Piringer reported the majority of the fire was ‘knocked down’ in approximately 10-15 minutes after personnel first arrived. "It was declared under control (fire, including hotspots, vehicle, debris and exposures) around 8:40 a.m. No firefighters were injured" wrote Piringer.

As for Mrs. Oliveira's concerns, Piringer said the firefighters were doing their job, "staying calm." That is not to say that they did not care about her home or the spreading fire, "I can assure you they care about what they do and how they do it – and especially about a resident’s life, property and overall well-being," said Piringer.

In the end Oliveira told friends, "we are doing fine except for the smell. We are airing out the house with small fans."

As for the future use of the neighboring property, Oliveira said "the gas station and the garage have to go."