(Updated at 11:50 a.m.) Arlington County firefighters are on scene of a vehicle fire in Pentagon City, near the TSA and DEA headquarters and the front entrance to the mall.
A truck caught fire and was fully engulfed in flames, sending a column of dark smoke rising into the air — visible from nearby office buildings and I-395 — around 11 a.m., near the intersection of S. Hayes Street and 12th Street S.
The fire has been extinguished but Hayes Street is closed between Army Navy Drive and 12th Street S. Police are helping to direct traffic and preparing to reopen the southbound lanes of Hayes.
A video of the fire, taken from a nearby building, shows a small explosion as someone can be heard describing the fire — apparently to a 911 dispatcher — in the background. (Note: there is NSFW language in the video.)
More via social media:
ACPD is conducting traffic control in the area of S. Hayes at 15th Street as @ArlingtonVaFD units respond to a vehicle fire. Follow police direction in the area. pic.twitter.com/OmLMhoSmrQ
— ArlingtonCountyPD (@ArlingtonVaPD) December 9, 2019
@ARLnowDOTcom lots of smoke in pentagon city pic.twitter.com/gCveYdEJya
— Ryan Kelly (@RyanJKelly) December 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/TheRunrLovr/status/1204069959166578690
Photo (top) via Arlington County Police Department. Video courtesy Christopher Chung.
