Fire Kills One Person, Destroys Falls Church Home

Update, 10:57 a.m.

One person died in a fire that destroyed a Falls Church home early Monday morning.

Dan Schmidt, a spokesman for the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department, said emergency responders have not been able to determine if the victim is a man or a woman. The victim's identity will not be released until next of kin are notified.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, Schmidt said.

Original Story

A two-story Cape Cod style Falls Church home was completely destroyed by a fire early Monday morning. 

Emergency responders arrived on scene at about 4:10 a.m. to find the house at 6608 Orland St. engulfed in flames. Fairfax County Fire and Rescue officials were still on scene as of 10:15 a.m. 

Dan Schmidt, a spokesman for the fire department, said firefighters had to attack the fire from the outside of the residence because the fire was too far along for safety workers to enter the house. Eventually, the second story of the home completely collapsed.

Just after 10 a.m., Schmidt said the fire department was still checking hot spots. It is not clear if anyone was inside the house when the fire started. 

Schmidt said no one fled from the residence when firefighters arrived on scene this morning. He also said there were no tenants outside the home. He added the house could have been empty when the fire started. 

"We don't know yet," Schmidt said. "We're still on scene."

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department spokesman as Stan Schmidt. His name is Dan Schmidt.