Man dies after house fire near GW Parkway

Burned house

This image, provided by the fire department, shows the home where one person was injured in a fire Thursday afternoon. (Fairfax Fire and Rescue image)

A man has died from injuries suffered in a fire Thursday afternoon in a neighborhood near the George Washington Memorial Parkway, according to the Fairfax Fire and Rescue Department. 

Rida N. Azer, 80, died this evening, the fire department announced on Twitter at 9:30 p.m. The fire department also announced that the fire was accidental in nature, and started when a space heater was used too close to combustible materials. 

Firefighters from Fairfax and the City of Alexandria initially responded to the fire in the 1000 block of Herbert Springs Road (see map) around 2 p.m.

The structure was engulfed in smoke and fire when crews arrived, and firelighters were told that one person was inside the one-story dwelling, which Deputy Chief Joseph Knerr described as a large “pool house.” 

The fire was put out quickly, Knerr said, and Azer was pulled from the home and taken to the hospital. 

Azer had owned the house since 1974, according to county property records. Other online records indicate that he was still active as an orthopedic surgeon, and practiced out of offices in Alexandria, Oxon Hill and Washington D.C.

See Knerr’s briefing from after the fire here.

This story was updated at 9:35 p.m. after the fire department announced that Azer had died. 

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