Fire at downtown D.C. building extinguished

WASHINGTON - The D.C. Fire Department has extinguished a fire in Northwest Washington that snarled morning traffic and injured five firefighters.

Fire department spokesman Alan Etter says the fire at a two-story commercial building in the 1000 block of F Street was reported about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday. He says it began on the top floor, which appeared to be vacant. It was extinguished about 8 a.m.

A souvenir shop on the first floor sustained water damage.

Etter says a firefighter suffered a broken hand, another suffered a burn to his knee and three more were being treated for high blood pressure.

He says F street between 9th and 11th streets was closed for about two hours and reopened about 9:30 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

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