Arlington County family of 16 displaced after fire

An extended family of 16 people fled their burning home in Arlington County early Tuesday after one relative arrived home from work, smelled smoke and alerted the others, authorities said. No one was hurt.

When the man returned home about 3 a.m. from his shift at a restaurant, he woke up his 5-year-old son and the rest of the family, screaming for everyone to leave the house, said Diana Ascencio, who rushed out with her 15-month-old daughter.

The occupants of the house span three generations and include four children. Some family members think the fire was electrical because they noticed problems with the electricity at 10 p.m. Monday.

"We were going to call an electrician in the morning," said Ascencio as she sat in the lobby of an Arlington motel Tuesday, still wearing her pajamas from the night before.

She said it was terrifying to run out of her house and see flames behind her. The entire family huddled in an ambulance for warmth as firefighters battled the blaze.

The fire badly damaged some rooms on the second floor but did not destroy the house. Ascencio's grandparents have owned the eight-bedroom home for 14 years, she said.

The lone smoke alarm in the house, in the 3400 block of South Ninth Street, was not working, said Capt. Jose Ortiz, a spokesman for the Arlington County Fire Department. Officials said county building inspectors would check the house, which appeared to include several additions and subdivided bedrooms, for potential code violations.

The Red Cross, which is putting up the family in the motel for three nights, also provided blankets and teddy bears for the children. Ascencio said she hopes the family's insurance company will help them find temporary housing together.

"I can't imagine living without them," said Ascencio, 19, who was born and raised in Arlington. She said most of her relatives in the home were also born in Arlington, and a few came over from their native El Salvador.

For now, she said, she is going to try to rest and find a crib for her daughter, Nayeli, who has not been able to sleep since the fire.

Staff writer Debbi Wilgoren contributed to this report.