NW DC row house collapse traps and kills worker

WASHINGTON — A construction worker is dead after getting trapped when a row house collapsed in Northwest, D.C. Monday morning. 

The two-story row house on the 1100 block of V Street NW collapsed around 9:30 a.m. D.C. Fire was on the scene working to secure the hazard area and rescue the worker. However, after about two hours, the building was deemed unsafe and rescue efforts were suspended. 

Just before 2 p.m., officials held a news conference to update the public. There, investigators said the 36-year-old worker trapped inside was pronounced dead. He has since been identified as Edgar Cifuentes. 

Deputy DC FEMS Fire Chief Danny McCoy said the building was in the process of being razed, to then be renovated, and the person was working on the demolition when it collapsed, trapping them under the rubble. 

Now those closest to him want answers, and wonder why more wasn’t done to make sure the building was safe to work in.

“It’s like, nobody came to evaluate the situation?” asked Cinthya Álvarez, Cifuentes’ former sister-in-law. “It’s a whole wall that fell down.”

McCoy said DC FEMS is working with the DC Department of Buildings to come up with a plan to stabilize the building to make it safe to continue operations. 

The building that collapsed is next to another occupied two-story row house, but there was no one in the home at the time of collapse. 

Now crews are working to make sure the building the collapsed rowhouse was attached to is stable, and investigate what went wrong during construction.

Fire officials also said there are no signs of fire, utility concerns or danger to the rest of the neighborhood. 

McCoy said that he anticipated the 1100 block of V Street would be shut down for an extended period while his crew continued to work, and advised neighbors to avoid the area as much as possible. 

In the meantime, those closest to Cifuentes are now tasked with delivering the news of this tragedy.

“We don’t know how we’re going to give the news to the family, he’s from Guatemala,” Álvarez said. “It’s devastating.”