Fires at Nightclubs, Tire Shop Block Commuter Arteries

Two D.C. commuter arteries -- the 2400 block of Wisconsin Avenue NW, and Florida Avenue NE between 10th and 14th streets -- will remain clogged during the evening rush hour, after being closed by unrelated fires.

A gas fire destroyed most of a strip club just north of Georgetown early this morning on Wisconsin Avenue, D.C. fire officials said. A blaze at a Northeast Washington tire shop that had been burning since yesterday could keep Florida Avenue and intersecting streets closed for several days, said fire department spokesman Alan Etter.

An early-morning blaze in Bladensburg badly damaged a cocktail lounge and closed Annapolis Road for most of the morning rush hour. Annapolis Road has since reopened.

No one was injured in the fires this morning. But a manager from JP's Night Club, at 2412 Wisconsin Ave. NW, had to be rescued from the roof of the burning building by firefighters using a ladder truck. The manager fled a third-floor office when he smelled smoke about 3:30 a.m.

D.C. Fire Chief Dennis L. Rubin said a preliminary investigation suggests that the fire involved the building's gas line and gas meter. Firefighters worked for about 90 minutes to control the fire, Rubin said. At the start of rush hour, one lane of Wisconsin Avenue had reopened in each direction.

The Prince George's County fire involved the Iron Castle Lounge, at 5451 Annapolis Rd. Firefighters were called there just before 6 a.m. and battled the blaze for more than an hour.

In Northeast Washington, tires stacked inside Jimmy's Tire Shop at 12th and K streets and Florida Avenue continued to smolder today. Officials said the fire would not subside completely until every tire is removed from the building and sprayed with a fire-extinguishing foam. At that point, the tires will be taken to a landfill, fire officials said.

Rubin said investigators think the tire shop fire may be related to construction that was going on to repair a wall. The wall had collapsed during the removal of an underground oil storage tank.

A significant amount of oil leeched into the soil when the 2,000-gallon tank was removed recently, officials said. The oil may have contributed to the fire's spread.

City environmental officials said they have set up air quality monitors at the site.

Although the burning tires and other contaminants left an acrid odor, the smell was less strong today than yesterday, some observers said.

City officials said the air is not dangerous. If the monitor shows harmful air quality, environmental officer George Hawkins said, city employees will alert residents by knocking on doors of nearby homes and businesses.