DC firefighters battle blaze in historic firehouse near US Capitol

WASHINGTON — Firefighters in Washington, D.C., battled a three-alarm fire Friday that started in a three-story former firehouse being renovated near the U.S. Capitol.

DC Fire and EMS said a firefighter declared a mayday and was rescued. No injuries have been reported.

The fire started Friday evening in Old Engine Company No. 12, now a historic site along North Capitol Street in Washington's Bloomingdale neighborhood. Vito Maggiolo, a fire department spokesman, told The Washington Post that the fire may have been sparked by a gas line and was long gone by the time firefighters arrived.

DC Fire posted on social media that an adjacent four-story building that is part of a new complex attached to the fire station was also “well involved.” The department said several neighboring homes were evacuated as a precaution, but the fire appeared to be under control as of 9 p.m. EST.

About 25 fire trucks and 125 firefighters, including some from nearby Montgomery County in Maryland, responded to the blaze.

According to the nonprofit DC Preservation League, Old Engine Company No. 12 built in 1896. It was evacuated by the fire brigade in 1987.