Electrical fires leave hundreds in Fairfax County apartment complex in the dark

ANNANDALE, Va. – Electrical fires at an apartment complex in Annandale, Va., prompted Fairfax County officials to shut off power to nearly 300 apartment units early Thursday.

For hundreds of people at Parliaments Apartments, it was a miserable morning.

“We weren’t prepared for this,” says tenant Erwin Chavez. “Everybody was freezing their butts off.”

All 270 units in his building were without power for several hours as electricians worked to locate the problem. In the end, crews restored power to all but 18 units.

“They’re going to need to do some electrical repairs to the structure,” says Fairfax Fire and Rescue Deputy Chief Bob Zoldos.

The people living in those units might not have their power for a while — maybe not until later this week, Zoldos says.

The Red Cross is offering help.

“We have also set up shelters, so we have a whole bunch of different options for them to take,” Zoldos says.

Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up