Fairfax County Fire and Rescue has revealed that the Groveton area fire in Alexandria was started by a cigarette.
The skies over Alexandria were filled with smoke from an epic structure fire on the 2800 block of Poag Street on February 8. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue rushed to extinguish it, calling in reinforcements from multiple stations. When all was said and done, the estimate for the damage comes in at over $48 million.
UPDATE - Groveton Fire caused by improperly discarded smoking materials. Damage total of over $48M. More: https://t.co/RmBg7moZzJ #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty pic.twitter.com/upFm6vOL3N
— Fairfax Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 13, 2020
Though many people were displaced from their homes and businesses in the wake of the event, most of the structures destroyed in the fire were still under construction. At its peak, the four-alarm fire drew crews from all over the area.
UPDATE from Poag Street: a Fourth Alarm has been requested. PIO enroute to scene and should arrive shortly. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty pic.twitter.com/i4esXBEsbQ
— Fairfax Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 8, 2020
The entire region was affected by the blaze, with traffic temporarily stopped on Route 1 as firefighters fought to extinguish it.
Latest update re: #GrovetonFire: Rt 1 is closed b/w Huntington Ave & Beacon Hill. N Kings is closed from Fairhaven down to S Kings at Franklin St. Our Incident Mgmt Coordinators are onscene/enroute to support. Our nearest traffic camera is now offline. Pls continue to stay away.
— VDOT Northern VA (@VaDOTNOVA) February 8, 2020
The fire was so big, its smoke could be seen from miles away. Twitter was filled with reports from all over Fairfax County.
This is one of the best videos I have seen that provides a wider perspective of just how massive this fire was. https://t.co/xt6Epqwgfx
— Michael Sharpe (@AFD_BFC) February 9, 2020
Wow! A literal 30,000 foot view of Saturday's fire. #FCFRD #FairfaxCounty RT @normz04: @TishaLewis I saw the fire from the plane. Flying from New York to New Orleans pic.twitter.com/uYu8jtOFDW
— Fairfax Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) February 10, 2020
Did you see the smoke from this epic fire? Where were you? Let us know in the comments!
