A family of four had to be rescued from a burning apartment building in Suitland early Wednesday morning, fire officials say, and now authorities believe the fire may have been suspicious in nature.
Prince George's County Fire spokesman Mark Brady says the fire broke out at the Andrews Ridge Apartment complex in the 5600 block of Regency Park Court at about 6:30 a.m. Officials say the flames started in a terrace-level apartment, then spread to the upper floors of the four-story building.
The first ladder truck that arrived on the scene was able to rescue the family from a top-floor balcony after they were not able to use the stairs to escape.
Investigators from county Fire Marshal's office said late Wednesday afternoon that the fire is suspicious in nature. Officials say they're looking into the possibility that a domestic dispute in one of the apartments in the complex is related to the origin of the fire.
Fourteen units were declared uninhabitable, officials say, but no residents of the building were injured. In total, 31 people will be displaced, including 11 children.
It took 90 firefighters about 45 minutes to extinguish the three-alarm fire. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.