Small fire extinguished in the Letterman House

Hatchet Staff Writer Matt Rist wrote this report.

University Police Department and D.C. Fire Department officials responded to an off-campus apartment fire across from Building JJ in the 2030 Letterman House apartment complex early Tuesday afternoon.

D.C. firefighters were called to the Letterman House on Tuesday afternoon. Viktors Dindzans/Photo Editor

The fire originated in the kitchen of a GW senior, who said he was cooking pizza in a gas oven. Multiple fire trucks responded to the scene and fire officials deployed a ladder to the top floor of the building.

“I turned the gas on and the oven caught on fire,” said the senior, who asked not to be identified. “There was a lot of smoke, a lot of really black smoke.”

The senior, who lives with another GW student, said he used a fire extinguisher and ran out of the smoke-filled apartment shirtless and shoeless.

“I ran down stairs and told them they should call the fire department,” he said. “I didn’t even have a shirt on when I ran out of my apartment.”

UPD Officer Shaun Calcara was on the scene with another officer to monitor the response by D.C. Fire.

“It’s the same procedure as if we had a fire in one of our dorms,” he said. “This response is mainly D.C. fire.”

The GW senior said he was the only one present in the apartment at the time of the fire and was unharmed, but said he was concerned about the contents of his apartment.

“I just hope my TV is ok,” he said.