Fatality reported in apartment fire in Northeast Washington

Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for the D.C. fire department, said the building that burned was reported to be vacant.

D.C. police identified the man who died as Kenneth Lewis, 50. A cause of death has not yet been determined.

Authorities said they have not determined why Lewis was in the building. The chairwoman of the advisory neighborhood commission for the area and a resident who lives on the street said they and others have previously complained to the city that the building was not properly secured. They said that people who shouldn’t be there had been able to get inside.

The Department of Buildings, however, said a recent inspection had not revealed any issues.

On the fire department’s Twitter page, officials said that the fire extended to both floors and the attic and porches, and that it took about 30 minutes to bring it under control. Maggiolo said fire investigators are trying to learn what caused the fire.

Lewis’s father, Gordon Lewis, said his son lived with him in Prince George’s County and had left for the District on Monday, telling him he had a job at a hotel along the waterfront. Gordon Lewis, 83, said he grew worried Tuesday when he did not hear from his son.

Gordon Lewis said police told him Wednesday morning his son had been found in a vacant building and had died, possibly as the result of a fire. “I don’t know what he was doing in that building,” the father said.

The elder Lewis said his son was troubled and had significant intellectual deficits, but said he had been seeking treatment. He never married and had no children. His mother and brother died years ago, the father said. The family was raised in Prince George’s County.

Sydelle Moore, the ANC chair for the neighborhood, said people were “getting in through the rear of the building,” and their activities were sometimes worrisome. In August, D.C. police found the body of a woman in an apartment in the building, according to a report. Police said the woman has not yet been identified.

Ian Moss, an attorney who lives on the block where the fire occurred, said he has complained to officials and testified before the D.C. Council about developers not paying enough attention properties slated for renovation.

According to the D.C. Department of Buildings, the apartment building that burned, along with an adjacent property, were purchased in March and are owned by a limited liability corporation. Efforts to reach representatives Wednesday were not successful.

A spokesman for the Department of Buildings said in a statement that inspectors responded to the building after receiving a complaint in November and found the property vacant. The spokesman said that no infractions were found at that time and that the building had been occupied as recently as October.

“Our inspections have consistently indicated that the common areas and each apartment were secured with functional and locking doors,” the statement says. But the Department of Buildings said an infraction notice was issued in July, before the building was vacated, after inspectors reported finding an unsecured crawl space. The case is pending before an administrative review board.

The buildings department said in the statement following the fire that “the property is in disrepair, is being secured to prevent public entry and is classified as blighted due to the damage.”