Va. Blaze Injures Resident, Displaces 250

A fire yesterday morning at a complex for mostly elderly residents in Falls Church temporarily displaced about 250 people and caused one injury, fire officials said.

The fire started about 8 a.m. in an outdoor transformer in front of the Longwood House and the Elmwood House in the 600 block of North Madison Street, said Lt. Willie Bailey, a spokesman for the Fairfax County fire department.

The fire was quickly extinguished, Bailey said. He declined to detail what kind of injury the resident suffered, but he said it was not life-threatening.

Residents were taken by bus to nearby Ashlawn Elementary in Arlington County, where the Red Cross served them water and snacks. Late yesterday afternoon, about half had been picked up by their children, said Julia L. Wright, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross Arlington County Chapter.

She said the Red Cross was prepared to give them food and shelter overnight if they could not return home. She was waiting to hear whether the electrical and gas systems were functioning.

Most of the damage to the buildings was caused by smoke, fire officials said. Destruction was not visible from the outside of the four-story red brick buildings.

Many of the residents are Vietnamese and Korean and speak limited English, Wright said. An interpreter translated for those residents who could not communicate with Red Cross workers.

"They want to go home but they are very gracious," Wright said.

Fairfax police animal control officers picked up and cared for four pets from the building after residents were evacuated.