Man and woman found dead after Southeast DC house fire

WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — Around 5:30 Sunday morning, DC Fire and EMS say they were called to a house fire near 23rd Street and Southern Avenue, Southeast. They say they discovered a 64-year-old man and 34-year-old woman dead on the second floor of a townhome. They also say they had to rescue an 85-year-old woman with a ladder from the second floor. She was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition.

DC Fire and EMS says the Arson Task Force is investigating the fire, but the cause of the fire hasn’t been released.

“My homeboy stayed here, so I walked around here to find out. I walked here and yes, it is his house," said Syndethia Simpson, a nearby resident. "It’s sad."

Hubert Ellerbe says he was friends with the 64-year-old victim.

“We grew up together, 60 years," said Ellerbe. “I just spoke to him about a week ago. He was doing pretty well. We were supposed to get together in a couple weeks, but looking at this, oh my gracious.”

Ellerbe says a man had been harassing his friend, and the 34-year-old victim that was staying with him, for weeks.

“I guess it was from the young lady he was involved with, [she] had another guy she was still seeing, and I guess this was his retaliation and he damn sure carried it out pretty good," said Ellerbe. "Good gracious of life, never seen anything like that.”

Ellerbe says, the 85-year-old taken to the hospital, was his friend’s mother.

“It’s just a tragic incident," Ellerbe said. "We didn’t think anything like this was going on, he was basically just trying to get himself back together, but in the end, he just never made it where he needed to get to.”

DC Fire and EMS says multiple dogs were found in the basement of the home in good condition and were safely taken to Animal Control.

Fire officials also say they will be back in the neighborhood Monday morning, distributing fire safety materials including smoke alarms and installing them for free if needed.