Fire Sweeps Through NW Apartment Building

A two-alarm fire early this morning in Northwest Washington swept through a nine-story apartment building that caters to seniors and the disabled, leaving more than a dozen people with minor injuries, authorities said.

Firefighters rescued two people from the blaze at Harvard Towers, in the 1800 block of Harvard St.

Flames started at about 1 a.m. when a cigarette ignited a carpet, said Alan Etter, spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Services Department. A man who had been smoking the cigarette on the fifth floor of the building fell asleep, Etter said.

One man and a firefighter were sent to a local hospital but were quickly released. About a dozen others were treated for minor injuries at the scene, said Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin.

The fire caused about $50,000 in damages to the building, which is owned by the D.C. Housing Authority. One apartment was damaged severely, causing the residents who live there to be relocated.

Rubin credited firefighter Tony Kelleher, firefighter/paramedic Lynette Kramer and fire Lt. Richard Copeland with rescuing the two residents.