Falls Church Dumpster Fire Fueled by Area Children

As people returned from watching professional fireworks in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, some Falls Church children wanted to keep the party going into the late night.

At about 11 p.m., Fairfax County Fire and Rescue were called to the 2900 block of Monticello Dr. for a report of a dumpster fire. A captain from the fire department didn’t want to be identified but said there was a report of teens throwing fireworks into the raging dumpster fire. He said he did not know how the fire started.

Before firefighters arrived, a mob of children and teens threw fireworks into the blaze and retreated to an adjacent sidewalk and watched colorful balls of fire shoot from within the dumpster.

The dumpster, which was about 20 feet from the closest home, did not damage any cars or homes in the area filled with townhomes. The firefighter said setting fireworks off within 30 feet of a home is illegal.

The fire remains under investigation.