Saturday's four-alarm fire at a construction site on Poag Street in the Groveton area caused more damage than originally known.
The Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department on Sunday reported the fire broke out around 9:40 a.m. A construction worker said it started in a trash chute at the South Alex residential and retail development.
"As is common with buildings under construction, there was no sprinkler system in place. This combined with extremely windy weather conditions made fighting the fire difficult," the fire department reported.
Fairfax County firefighters called for support from the City of Alexandria Fire Department, Arlington County Fire Department, Prince George’s County Fire and Emergency Services Department and Fort Belvoir Fire and Emergency Services.
Two firefighters were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries and have been released. One civilian suffered minor injuries, as well.
Ultimately, the fire spread to five buildings and 14 townhouses that were under construction. The fire damaged and additional 14 townhouses, four single-family homes, five apartment buildings, a commercial building and 28 vehicles, Fairfax County fire officials reported.
The fire department was still spraying water on hot spots Sunday afternoon.
Route 1 is now open in both directions.
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Original story from Saturday, Feb. 10:
A five-story building that was under construction went up in flames Saturday morning.
The fire started at a construction site on Poag Street and grew to four alarms with firefighters from Fairfax County, Alexandria, Fort Belvoir, Arlington and Prince George's County responding.
The construction site was part of the Craftmark Homes development South Alex in the 2800 block of Poag Street.
Note: The above photo was originally taken by @KentlandChief on Twitter.
The buildings under construction were next to The Shelby residential community just southwest of the intersection of Kings Highway and Route 1. Residents of The Shelby were evacuated and reported hearing several explosions as the fire grew.
One firefighter and one civilian were transported to the hospital for minor injuries, according to the Fairfax County Fire Department.
Route 1 was closed in both directions Saturday morning.
A cause of the fire has not been determined yet.
Several residents reported seeing smoke and fire from the site on social media from as far away as Lorton.
At 1:05 p.m. on Saturday, The Parker Apartments, which is managed by the Bozzuto Group, who also manages The Shelby, sent an email to residents saying that evacuees from The Shelby would be staying in common areas and the parking garage of The Parker for the evening.
Zip's Dry Cleaners, which is located adjacent to the South Alex development sent an email to customers saying, "Due to the fire in Alexandria, ZIPS Dry Cleaners is temporarily closed until further notice. We will provide an e-mail update as soon as we have more information. Please do not call the store at this time. We appreciate your patience & understanding in this matter."
Susannah Moore/Alexandria Living Magazine
A fire at a construction site for Craftmark Homes grew to four alarms Saturday morning, Feb. 8, 2020.
