UPDATED: Fire pit debris causes weekend house fire near Westover

(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) Fire damaged a house in the Tara-Leeway Heights neighborhood, a few blocks from Westover Village.

The fire broke out shortly before 3 p.m. Saturday, reportedly in an outdoor deck area next to the house, which sent a column of dark smoke into the sky. The fire then spread to the home and the attic.

A large fire department response blocked streets around the home, near the intersection of 18th Street N. and N. Lexington Street. It took nearly an hour to extinguish all of the flames and hot spots. Firefighters remained on scene several hours after the initial dispatch, documenting the scene and investigating the cause of the blaze.

No injuries were reported.

On Monday afternoon, the Arlington County Fire Department revealed that the blaze started after the smoldering contents of a metal fire pit were dumped near a wooden fence. The fire caused more than $300,000 in damage, ACFD said in a press release, below.

On April 2nd, at approximately 2:55 pm, units from the Arlington County Fire Department were dispatched to a reported outside fire impinging on a nearby single-family dwelling. Crews quickly arrived on the scene and found a well-advanced fire that had spread from outside, into the home. Firefighters were able to extinguish the bulk of the fire quickly and spent a significant portion of the incident opening up void spaces to check for any potential fire spread. There were no injuries reported to firefighters or civilians, and units cleared the scene that evening just before 7 pm.

The Arlington County Fire Prevention Office determined the cause of the fire to be improperly discarded fire debris from a metal fire pit placed near landscaping and a wooden fence. Initial damage estimates are more than $300,000. The Arlington County Fire Department and Fire Prevention Office would like to remind everyone that open flames or discarded fire debris should be kept at least 15 feet away from combustible material until fully cooled. For more information on grilling and open burning, please visit Grilling/Open Burning – Official Website of Arlington County Virginia Government (arlingtonva.us)

Video courtesy Stephanie Minkoff