Massive inferno engulfs $8.5M mansion near Obama residence in Washington, D.C.
Print Close
By Stephen Sorace, Bonny Chu
Published May 20, 2025
A massive inferno ripped through a three-story mansion Tuesday morning in an upscale neighborhood in northwest Washington, D.C., just blocks away from the home of former President Barack Obama.
The blaze prompted nearby evacuations and a large emergency response in the Kalorama district, according to the D.C. Fire and EMS Department, adding there was a separate fire at the same home Monday night caused by an accidental electrical issue.
The mansion was an unoccupied building undergoing renovations, authorities said. Public records show the six-bedroom, 5½-bathroom 1928 English Manor was purchased last month for $8.575 million.
While the first fire was contained to mostly one floor and required one truck to extinguish the blaze, Tuesday's incident escalated to a two-alarm fire that became a "defensive operation using large outside streams," the fire department said. Approximately 20 vehicles and 100 firefighters responded to the blaze that engulfed every floor of the building, and both sides of the house were evacuated as a precaution.
2 DEAD AFTER SEPARATE FIRES STRIKE WASHINGTON, DC
Authorities added that "there was a mayday that was resolved with the firefighter safe and uninjured."
2 DEAD AFTER HOUSE BURNS DOWN IN NEW JERSEY FOLLOWING 'GIGANTIC EXPLOSION,' CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY
One firefighter fell into an elevator shaft but was quickly pulled to safety and was hospitalized as a precaution, FOX5 DC reported, citing D.C. Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
No other injuries were reported, and the blaze was under control by late morning. Fire investigators are still working to determine the cause of Tuesday's fire. Print Close
URL
https://www.foxnews.com/us/massive-inferno-engulfs-8-5m-mansion-near-obama-residence-washington-dc
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
31 minutes ago
- CNN
Social media algorithms boost L.A. protest misinformation in ‘combustible' environment
Offline, in real-world Los Angeles, most Angelenos are having a perfectly normal day. But online, the fires and riots are still raging. The powerful algorithms that fuel social media platforms are feeding users days-old and sometimes completely fake content about the recent unrest in L.A., contributing to a sense of nonstop crisis that doesn't exist beyond a small part of the sprawling city. Unvetted accounts on platforms like X and TikTok, in an apparent bid for clicks, clout and chaos, have preyed on the fears of liberals and conservatives about where last weekend's clashes will lead. An AI-generated fake video on TikTok purported to show a National Guardsman going by the name Bob livestreaming his preparation for 'today's gassing' of protesters. The video has been viewed more than 960,000 times as of Tuesday afternoon. Many in the comments section called the video a fake, but others appeared to believe it was real. (The video, which was debunked by BBC News, appears to have since been taken down.) Get Reliable Sources newsletter Sign up here to receive Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter in your inbox. 'What's happening on social media is similar to the chaos of the information environment around the 2020 George Floyd protests,' said Renée DiResta, an associate research professor at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy and an expert on how conspiracy theories spread online. 'People are trying to discern between real current footage and recycled sensational old footage repurposed for political or financial ends.' In 2025, though, AI-generated images are more abundant, and users have splintered onto different online platforms 'where different stories are being told,' DiResta told CNN. On X, where right-wing views tend to flourish, influencers are denouncing the anti-ICE protesters as agitators and terrorists, while on the more left-wing Bluesky, prominent users are condemning President Trump's deployment of the National Guard. Hyperpartisan and hyperactive accounts on X have been wildly overstating the actual volume of unrest in Southern California, furthering the online confusion about the offline situation. One viral post on X falsely claimed on Sunday that there were 'breaking' news reports that Mexico was considering 'military intervention' in Los Angeles. More than 2 million people have viewed the post as of Tuesday afternoon. Dozens of posts on X have spread conspiracy theories claiming the protesters were government-backed or funded by various sources, according to the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank. Many of those posts have over a million views, and only a handful of them have been fact-checked with X's community notes features. CNN has requested comment from X and TikTok. Recognizing how viral posts can distort public opinion and potentially exacerbate violence, California Governor Gavin Newsom's office on Sunday night pleaded with the public to 'check your sources before sharing info!' in a post on X. The governor's office also directly debunked some of the info. As some protests in L.A. turned ugly on Sunday evening, Senator Ted Cruz shared a shocking video clip of L.A. Police Department cars on fire and wrote, 'this… is… not… peaceful.' The Texas senator's X post implied the video clip was brand-new, but it was actually from 2020, when the racial justice protests tipped into civil unrest. Cruz was reacting to actor James Woods, one of the prominent conservative X users who promoted the five-year-old fire video. Newsom responded to Woods: 'This video is from 2020.' Adding to the confusion, vandals did damage several police cars and set several self-driving cars on fire Sunday evening. But the viral clip reposted by Woods was old. Federal government accounts have been among the misleading sources on social media. A Defense Department 'rapid response' account on X claimed Monday morning that 'Los Angeles is burning, and local leaders are refusing to respond.' But there were no reports of fires burning in L.A. at the time of the Defense Department's claim. Russian and Chinese state media have also amplified images of the unrest, whether real or fake. Chinese state media outlets have 'rapidly seized on the deployment of Marines in the streets of Los Angeles,' the German Marshall Fund's Alliance for Securing Democracy, a think tank, said in an analysis shared with CNN. 'In keeping with their coverage of 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, PRC (People's Republic of China) propaganda outlets have used protests in the United States to dent America's image abroad and to suggest that the US government's response to protests at home bears little resemblance to their support for protests overseas,' Bret Schafer, a senior fellow at the Alliance for Securing Democracy, told CNN. Russian state-controlled outlet Sputnik, meanwhile, circulated a photo, also shared by the actor Woods, purporting to show 'pallets of bricks' at a protest site. But that photo is actually from a construction site in New Jersey, according to X's 'community notes' feature. Russian state media outlets have also echoed false or misleading claims from pro-Trump influencers about left-wing groups and figures funding the protests, according to Schafer. Moscow 'seems less interested in scoring propaganda points and more interested in throwing fuel into a combustible domestic information environment,' he said.
Washington Post
31 minutes ago
- Washington Post
'A UFC fight': Tensions rise in Stanley Cup Final as the Panthers get the upper hand on the Oilers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Things got chippy in the Stanley Cup Final late in Game 3 when the Florida Panthers were well on their way to blowing out the Edmonton Oilers. Brawls ensued, Darnell Nurse and Jonah Gadjovich dropped the gloves, and eight guys got sent to the showers early with misconduct penalties.
CNN
37 minutes ago
- CNN
Mexican flags at LA protests spark heated debate
Mexican flags at LA protests spark heated debate Mexico's flag has become a defining symbol of the protests in Los Angeles, sparking a heated debate amongst the Latino community about whether or not it's disrespectful. CNN's Rafael Romo breaks down the debate and what the it means to be Mexican-American right now. 01:53 - Source: CNN Vertical Top News 14 videos Mexican flags at LA protests spark heated debate Mexico's flag has become a defining symbol of the protests in Los Angeles, sparking a heated debate amongst the Latino community about whether or not it's disrespectful. CNN's Rafael Romo breaks down the debate and what the it means to be Mexican-American right now. 01:53 - Source: CNN Tanks arrive in DC ahead of US Army parade As the 250th anniversary celebration for the US Army approaches, a freight train of tanks was seen making its way into the nation's capital. The long-planned celebration in Washington will coincide with Trump's 79th birthday and include thousands of troops. The Army had said it has no plans to recognize the president's birthday. 00:40 - Source: CNN Colombian presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe shot in Bogota A Colombian senator and presidential hopeful is in a critical condition after being shot twice at an event in Bogota, according to national police and prosecutors. Police arrested a 15-year-old carrying a Glock pistol, according to the Attorney General's Office. Miguel Uribe expressed intentions to run in the 2026 presidential election for the country's largest opposition party, the center-right Centro Democrático, or Democratic Center. 01:05 - Source: CNN Immigration protests break out in Los Angeles President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to disperse the protests that began in the Los Angeles area in response to immigration raids. Law enforcement authorities and demonstrators have clashed for two days. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones reports. 01:34 - Source: CNN Coco Gauff reacts to winning the French Open Coco Gauff claimed her second career grand slam singles title, defeating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the French Open women's final. 00:46 - Source: CNN Protesters confront authorities following ICE raids in Los Angeles Federal immigration operations in Los Angeles were met by protests. ICE declined to discuss the details of its operations. 00:43 - Source: CNN Attorney for mistakenly deported man talks to Erin Burnett CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, attorney for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March, who has been returned to the United States to face federal criminal charges. 02:37 - Source: CNN Trump Admin targets LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month CNN's Ben Hunte breaks down how the Trump Administration has targeted the LGBTQ+ community with its policies in just the first few days of Pride Month. 02:09 - Source: CNN Former 'Diddy' girlfriend reveals 'love contract' A former romantic partner for Sean 'Diddy' Combs using the pseudonym 'Jane' described feeling financially coerced and revealed Combs is still paying for her rent, even as she testified against him at trial. Prosecutors hope the testimony by 'Jane' will drive home charges that include sex trafficking, racketeering conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 01:30 - Source: CNN Trump's border czar on 3 US children leaving the country with their deported mothers White House border czar Tom Homan defended the Trump administration's move to deport three US citizen children last week. Homan told CNN's Priscilla Alvarez the children's parents, who were in the US illegally, made a "parental decision" to leave the country together. Gracie Willis, an attorney with the National Immigration Project, denies that the mothers were given a choice whether their children could remain in the US. 01:07 - Source: CNN Trump on Musk: 'The poor guy's got a problem' In a phone call with CNN's Dana Bash, President Donald Trump said he is 'not even thinking about' billionaire Elon Musk and won't be speaking to him in the near future. The comments come a day after Trump and Musk traded barbs on social media as their relationship deteriorated in spectacular public fashion. 00:43 - Source: CNN No aliens here: Research disputes possible 'signs of life' on another planet In response to hints of "biosignatures" found on a world called K2-18b, new research suggests there's a lot of uncertainty surrounding the exoplanet. CNN's Ashley Strickland reports on the ongoing scientific discourse around the search for extraterrestrial life. 00:43 - Source: CNN Reporter: Trump made $1 billion in crypto in 9 months CNN's Erin Burnett talks with Forbes Magazine's Dan Alexander about President Donald Trump's stunning ownership of billions of dollars worth of crypto. 02:19 - Source: CNN Russia launches strikes across Ukraine Russia launched waves of drones and ballistic missiles at multiple targets across a broad swath of Ukraine overnight killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv and wounding around 40 across the country. 00:32 - Source: CNN
