Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Fire Breaks Out Adjacent to Wisemiller’s

While many students and alumni watched the homecoming football game on Saturday afternoon, the bakery attached to F. Scott’s at 1232 36th St. caught fire. D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services arrived at the scene at about 2:45 p.m. and reported that there was damage to the exterior of the building, but that no injuries were sustained.

The fire spread from the entryway of the building up the exterior of the wall, but was quickly contained. Only the exterior wall sustained damage, according to Sgt. Sean Brooks of D.C. Fire.

“Damage is significant, tens of thousands of dollars if not more,” battalion fire Chief Sean Greene said at the scene.

The restaurant F. Scott’s is located on the same block as local eateries The Tombs, 1789 and Wisemiller’s and across from the Walsh building. While the fire did emit smoke and attracted a crowd of around 20 students en route from the homecoming game, it did not raise a major alarm in the area.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Chris Olart, an employee at Wisemiller’s, the property adjacent to the bakery, who was working during the fire. “I didn’t notice the fire. I just saw the fire trucks coming onto the street.”

D.C. Fire could not determine the cause of the fire.

“This building has been here for a while, it might be 100 years old, [we’re] not sure where the fire started, but it probably burned for a while. . [It] looks like it started in the entrance way, in the walls, then it got down into the basement,” Greene said. Brooks added that the fire was able to spread because the exterior of the building is made of wood.

D.C. Fire has not ruled out crime as the cause of the fire, according to Greene. Others said the fire was an accident.

“I don’t know what happened, but most probably someone threw a cigarette from a sidewalk and set the front of the building on fire,” William Watts, general manager of 1789, which owns F. Scott’s said.

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