DCRA, DC Fire and EMS knew of hazardous conditions inside DC row house prior to fire that killed boy, man: sources

FOX 5 has confirmed that employees within the District's police and fire departments, as well as the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, knew about hazardous conditions inside a row house prior to a fire that left a 9-year-old boy and a man dead in Northwest Washington last week. 

WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - FOX 5 has confirmed that employees within the District's police and fire departments, as well as the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, knew about hazardous conditions inside a row house prior to a fire that left a 9-year-old boy and a man dead in Northwest Washington last week.

RELATED: 9-year-old pulled from Northwest DC fire in critical condition has died, officials say

According to sources, the row house located on the 700 block of Kennedy Street NW was illegally divided into several small apartments.

In March of this year, a D.C. police officer was called to the house for a domestic dispute. Once inside, the officer noticed and documented unsafe conditions.

A source familiar with the investigation tells FOX 5 the officer turned on his body camera to document the fire hazards but that information has not yet been confirmed by city officials.

The source says the officer wrote a detailed account of what he saw and then followed up numerous times.

Kevin Donahue, the deputy mayor for public safety, says an inspector with DCRA went to the home three times but never got inside, so they decided to close the case without seeking a search warrant.

Now, the city is hiring an auditing firm to investigate DCRA and DC Fire and EMS to try to get to the bottom of what happened.

FOX 5 has confirmed four employees are now on leave in light of these new revelations.

(DC Fire and EMS)