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A firefighter from the Reagan National-based Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Fire and Rescue squad was taken to the hospital after he suffered minor injuries battling an electrical fire in Alexandria.

Firefighters from Arlington and workers from Dominion Power also responded to the small blaze on Herbert Street in the Mt. Vernon section of Alexandria. It was sparked when a piece of aluminum siding came off the roof of a townhouse and struck a power line. Witnesses say the loose siding caused a loud electrical “explosion,” which may have started a fire in the attic.


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The District’s emergency communications system went down Monday night, prompting Arlington to allow D.C. radio traffic on some of the county’s channels.

ARLnow.com heard D.C. paramedics being dispatched on a fire department administrative channel. Among the calls broadcast on Arlington frequencies was a report of a stabbing in northeast Washington.


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Originally scheduled for Feb. 13 but postponed due to snow, the drill will simulate an explosion on a Metrorail train in the tunnel between the Rosslyn and Foggy Bottom stations. Arlington police and firefighters — along with emergency personnel from Metro and other jurisdictions — will test out new Mobile Emergency Response Vehicles (left), the first motorized rescue carts used by a U.S. transit organization.

The exercise will begin at 1:00 a.m. Sunday, but first responders and volunteer “victims” should arrive at the Rosslyn station around 11:00 p.m. Saturday. The exercise is expected to run until 5:00 a.m.


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Firefighters responded to a fire at an apartment complex on Columbia Pike this morning. The blaze was quickly extinguished, but not before causing some damage.

The fire broke out at one of seven buildings in the Archstone Columbia Crossing apartment community on the 1900 block of Columbia Pike. So far, no word on a cause.


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The Arlington Fire Department is on the scene of a hazmat situation at N. Stuart St. & 9th St. N., near the Ballston Metro. Initial reports suggest a truck is leaking fuel into a storm drain.

Update at 3:00 p.m. — An ambulance was called for a man who was complaining of chest pains, apparently caused by the fumes. The hazmat situation itself appears to be under control.


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Firefighters will use their recently-acquired Mobile Emergency Response Vehicles (MERVs) to travel through the tunnels. MERVs, which were used during the 2005 bombing of the London Underground, can reduce the time it takes first-responders to reach underground victims from 45 minutes to 4 minutes.

The exercise will take place between 9 AM and noon. The $1.2 million in funding for it came from a federal Homeland Security grant.