State Department Fire Injures 4, 3 Hospitalized

A State Department fire today has injured four people, three of whom were sent to the hospital for treatment after the flash blaze erupted.

In the ductwork of the State Department, fire broke out shortly after 11 AM while construction work on the Washington, DC building was being undertaken.

According to police, the State Department fire occurred while the building was occupied by few employees, and extinguished quickly — before fire trucks arrived on the scene.

A local news source explains that the State Department fire may have injured one victim critically, saying:

“One person was in a ‘life-threatening condition’ and the other two people were in serious but non-life threatening condition at Washington Hospital Center, authorities said … The fourth person fell from a ladder and hurt his knee, authorities said.”

First reports about the State Department fire indicated that no one was injured, but those were later amended, another source reports:

“Initially, a fire official on the scene told News4 that the workers had only suffered superficial burns. However, later Saturday afternoon, Lon Walls, a spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS confirmed that one of the workers had suffered life-threatening injuries, while two other hospitalized workers had suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries.”

“A fourth worker was taken to the hospital after he injured his knee falling off a ladder. Other burned workers were treated at the scene.”

Officials are currently investigating the cause of the fire on the eighth floor of the State Department, but say that it does not appear to be of a suspicious nature.