74-Year-Old Found Alive Trapped in Rubble 5 Days After Horrific House Fire
After five days of being trapped inside his second-story apartment in Washington, D.C., a 74-year-old man has been found alive.
The man, whose identity has not been released, was a resident at the Arthur Capper Senior building, a southeast D.C. public housing center, WTTG-TV reported.
The building went up in flames on Sept. 19.
Fire crews rushed to the scene and worked throughout the night to extinguish the flames that shot through the four-story building.
UNBELIEVABLE: Mayor confirms a 74 year old man was discovered alive by work crews this morning, five days after a devastating fire tore through the Capper Senior center in DC. He has been trapped in the rubble ever since that massive blaze last week: https://t.co/G3iPXQo9PI
— Anne Cutler (@AnneCutler) September 24, 2018
Community members also rushed toward the building to knock on doors and warn residents to evacuate.
In addition to good Samaritans from the community, about 100 Marines sprinted toward the building to help rescue crews after seeing smoke pour out the top of the building.
According to WTTG-TV, residents reported that the fire alarms in the building did not ring, leaving most of them completely unaware that their building was burning down.
All residents were believed to have been accounted for on the day of the fire, according to D.C. officials.
The manifesto showed that the 74-year-old man’s name was checked off as accounted for, but nobody actually saw him exit the building.
On Sept. 24, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser gave an update on the Arthur Capper Senior Public Housing fire, which included information about the 74-year-old survivor.
The man was found by work crew members who had been hired to evaluate the structural integrity of the building.
Crew members reported the resident was disoriented and dehydrated but overall in good spirits. He was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Bowser said.
D.C. Fire and EMS Chief Gregory Dean said the department will launch an investigation into why the building’s fire alarms did not go off. When the building was inspected last year, Dean said, there were not any fire code problems.
Over 160 residents have been displaced after the fire tore through their homes.
Bowser said the city is working to keep residents and their families updated as the situation progresses.
“We have all hands on deck to keep DC residents safe and informed,” she said.
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