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A fire that tore through Virginia Task Force 1’s training facility in Lorton caused more than $1 million in damage, prompting Fairfax County authorities to investigate possible criminal activity.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department responded to the 9900 block of Furnace Road at about 5:20 p.m. Saturday, June 27, after reports of a large column of black smoke rising from the property.
Firefighters found a large storage building containing commercial equipment engulfed in flames. No civilians or firefighters were injured.
The damaged facilities and equipment were used to train Virginia Task Force 1, the Fairfax County-based urban search and rescue team that deploys to disasters and humanitarian emergencies in the United States and abroad.
Surveillance footage shows at least six people on the property roughly an hour before the fire was reported. At about 4:14 p.m., two people can be seen climbing a metal stair tower. Three minutes later, a group is shown pulling open the doors of a large shed. Some entered while others remained outside.
Later footage from a Flock Safety camera shows the shed burning.
Fire investigators are working to determine the cause of the blaze, while the Fairfax County Police Department is reviewing the incident for potential criminal charges. Authorities have asked anyone who recognizes the people in the footage or has information about the fire to contact Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477) or submit a tip online.
The fire occurred as Virginia Task Force 1 personnel were searching rubble in Venezuela for survivors of earthquakes that devastated the country the previous week.
Established in 1986, the task force consists of approximately 200 Fairfax County fire and rescue personnel. Its domestic deployments are funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, while the U.S. State Department supports its international missions following the Trump administration’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.