just over the head of the firefighters in there now. where you see the smoke pouring out. again this fire -- all right, again, the fire is now completely under control. we'll still continue to follow what is happening on the scene in adelphi. announcer: from abc7 news this is a breaking news alert. leon: here is what is breaking now. fire crews on the scene of a massive fire in adelphi. we are looking at the 9200 block of new hampshire avenue. we watch as they rescued the residents from the upper floors of the four-story structure. two-alarm fire. it appears to be completely under control. no reports of injuries. we understand several people have been taken over by evaluation by the medics on the scene. our brad bell made his way to the scene and he checks in

now. what have you been able to learn? brad: leon, i was up the street. we got word and tried to get down. the traffic was completely stopped. about a mile at this point to try to get to the scene. we are arriving now on the scene, certainly a heavy presence as you have been seeing from news chopper 7. these are concrete and brick and steel construction buildings. i think that is one of the reasons why you are able to see the firefighters insidewalking around now. after they made the initial attack. to give us a briefing and information about what is going on.

leon: brad, if you can hear us we'll cut you loose for a second to establish a better line with you so we can get, understand what you are saying better. we are trying to get the latest word from the officials there on the ground. we are trying to get ahold of mark brady there. to talk to find out more about what they believe started the fire. the number of people taken from the building and the status of the fire and what will happen with the scene in adelphi. this is the presidential condo s. near the university of maryland golf course if you know the area. new hampshire and metsarot roads. we are still trying to -- we do not have mark brady? mark, this is leon harris. can you hear me here? >> i can. can you hear me? leon: i can. thank you for giving us a moment here. what can you tell us what is going on here?

>> our public safety communication received numerous 911 calls reporting an apartment on fire 5:20 this afternoon. firefighters arrived, found the fourth story apartment building with heavy fire on the top floor. and numerous rescues needing to be made from the balcony of the apartment surrounding it. the people on the balconies had attempted to escape but due to the intense heat, smoke in the hallways they retreated to the balconies. they got the firefighters' attention. when they arrived they initiated rescue by the ground ladder. they were there 20 to 30 minutes for the firefighters were able to get a handle on it and extinguish it. maureen: mark, could you tell us people who escaped, what condition are they in? and if you know whether there may have been other people in the building? >> maureen, paramedics are evaluating the patients we

brought down by way of the ground ladders and they appear to be in good shape. there were other occupants assisted out by the firefighters. they are also being evaluated by paramedics on the scene. i have not received a recent update reporting if anybody has been transimportanted to the hospital. leon: do we know how many people are being attended to there? mark: a dozen people. maureen: mark, mark? mark: yes, maureen. alison: i- -- maureen: i wonder if the people taken away if you can give us any idea about their condition. mark: well, number one, they are in a state of shock. it did not appear they had had burn or smoke injuries. they were in relatively good shape after what they went through. these are the people from the ajaysesant apartments rescued from the exterior ground

ladders. medics are evaluating some peak on the interior. and again, they appear to be in good shape. they may need to go to the hospital but i don't have that updated information yet. leon: okay. give us a sense of what will happen in the coming hours? we are still watching now. we are seeing here, live scenes of the firefighters in the unit at the top. going through it and stomping out fires. give us a sense of what will happen in the coming hours there? mark: leon, this is a flat roof apartment build something there is no attic or top off area. it didn't extend in attic area or thatch roof that burns off the roofing layers on the top. the fire extends. hot spots on the roof and the ceiling on the apartments but the roof of the building. we pulled that down

intentionally. then we use the hose lines to extinguish it. once the hot spots are out and assure that the fire is stable, our fire investigators will go in the apartment of origin and attempt to determine the cause of the fire. at that point we will be assisting the occupants of the building that may be displaced. i'm sure red cross is contacted and the services unit starting to assist all the occupants that will be displaced. leon: mark, can you tell us whether or not, what is being used to knock the fire down? we began watching this, we were watching the firefighters going in and affecting the rescue. going up to get the people and go to the balconies to get out of there. we were remarking how there was no attempt to fight the fire. then when you began to fight the fire it was out in a matter of minutes and it appeared to be a foam accumulating on the ground.

what was used on the fire? mark: what you were seeing the rescue made by the ground ladders is what you could not see is that other group of firefighters were on the interior of the building stretching the hose line to the fire to extinguish. at the same time other firefighters with the apartments in the interior. searching for any possible trapped occupants. while you may not have seen interior operations there was a lot going on with the firefighters in there to see heroic rescues on the ground ladder on the exterior. at one point the fire was burning so intensely we backed the firefighters out of the top floor to the safety of the stairwell. we used a hose line with high velocity amount of water. used that on the exterior to knock down the bulk of the fire. we had firefighters re-enter the top floor on the interior

to extinguish it. there was a lot going on. you couldn't see it on the tv other than the rescue team on the grand ladders. leon: makes sense. maureen: mark, a few minutes before you came on to talk with us, brad bell was saying that the construction of the buildings seems to have helped keep the blaze being worse. you named the construction of the building being concrete, steel, brick. what can you tell us about fighting that kind of a fire? mark: maureen, they don't build them like they used to. the buildings were built in 1964. made of concrete and steel. so it didn't extend as rapidly as the apartment buildings built today like mostly wood. so when you see those burp, they burn quickly and

intensely. this building because of the construction we felt more confident going into it. we know of the stability and only going to burn in one apartment at a time. one apartment is one compartment of four concrete walls and the floor and the ceiling. we know it's not going to extend as rapidly as light-weight constructed apartment building. leon: that is good to hear. any good luck we can get in situations like this. maureen: thank you. mark: thank you. maureen: let's go to brad bell who has arrived on the scene for his her spective on it. brad? brad: i can tell you what i see. mark brady is extremely experienced and has the information on the fire. this is the perspective we are getting from new hampshire avenue. firefighters are up there

breaking out windows. we can hear the glass falling. we can see the axes swinging. you can see their flashlights playing around the darkened building. no electricity in there now at this point. you can see very clearly from this vantage point the ladders that they used to get up there. and ready to affect rescues required. we were at the command post a while ago. battalion chief and guys trying to run the fire ground telling us they are not ready to talk to us about what they had going on but we could hear them still calling for more hoses to be charged. to make sure that they were ready in case anything did flare up. that part of the story. the story that affects commuters now. new hampshire avenue northbound where the fire trucks are. completely block and completely closed. on this side, you can see the southbound new hampshire avenue above meserot. it's slow-going. we tried to get here from outside the beltway and it

took us quite a while just to go the little bit of distance. the amazing thing to me now here is seeing how they were able to get this contained to just the few units up here. considering the blaze that we saw before. firefighters display courage going in the building. you hear mark brady talk about it with the procedures that they follow, with the equipment they have. takes good deal of heart to go in and do what they did to get the fire out. the other thing that we are seeing is that there are people gathered. not outside here but in the lobbies of the neighboring apartment buildings. those who were brought out of the building tonight. they have to face two real problems. the fire that affected the apartment. the living spaces. but also it is freezing cold out here.

water is moving around. it will be turning to ice. it's a big fire. they have it under control but it's still a scene in this area. if you are driving you want to avoid. back to you. leon: thank you, brad. we'll check in later to get more information about the number of people that may have been displaced and the number of the casualties or the injuries that may have been incurred in the fire. you can see the fire in adelphi under control. >> good news is the fire officials tell us that there have been no apparent serious injuries. people have been in shock but that is to be expected, of course. rescues done by the fire departments on the top floors. people were stuck on the balconies. so we are happy to report so far we have not heard injuries. as braid. people are out in the cold. they will have to have help this evening from the red cross and other muslim services. leon: we will continue to follow that. in the meantime we get more news in this half hour. per analysis tent problem

getting a lot worse according to the d.c. residents. maureen: package themes are getting brazen and making the home deliveries dicey. in one d.c. neighborhood solution is around the corner. reporter: surveillance cameras catch them all the time. leaving them devastated. >> a good neighborhood and a bad neighborhood. >> in this section of shaw, some people say it's too risky to have any home delivery. if you are not there to receive the package, you might as well kiss it goodbye. >> i don't have anything delivered at my house. >> seeing the problem and sensing a slution and the business opportunity the owner of the 10s market came one a solution. have packages delivered here. she said if she didn't take

them for the neighbors they'd probably be long gone. >> they accept packages from every delivery service. it doesn't cost a lot to pick up the package here. >> $1. >> if you buy something, then there is no charge. stephen tschida, abc7 news. leon: alexandria police closed in on three suspects involved in the murder of a man in beerily park. investigators say two of the -- beverley park. they are members of a gang and facing third-degree murder charges. the first is a woman charged as an accomplish. jose perez killed on the playground there at beverley park. maureen: a local daycare worker is found guilty of abusing children in her care. sarah jordan convicted of seven felony charges and six misdemane nowheres. she worked at the minnieland academy daycare for six years before being arrested in 2013.

she will be sentenced in may. she could face 60 years in prison. a second woman accused in the case goes on trial next month. we are getting new details about the ten u.s. navy sailors held by iran overnight. iranian run tv released video showing them taken into custody after the boat experienced mechanical trouble. the sailors and their boats were released this morning unharmed. john kerry says the situation is result of the renewed diplomacy between the u.s. and iran. >> this kind of issue was able to be officially resolved. that is a testament of a critical role that diplomacy plays keeping the country safe, security and strong. maureen: the navy says the investigation is underway in what went wrong with the boats and how they ended up in

iranian territory. leon: developing in the war of terror, maureen, turkey's prime minister says that police have detained four more suspects as the investigation into yesterday's suicide bombing continues. ten germans were killed in the attack in istanbul at a pom lar area for tourist -- popular area for tourists in turkey. it's been linked back to the islamic state group. five people have been detained in connection with the investigation. leon: reiterating the president's message in the "state of the union" last night secretary of state john kerry met with refugees from syria and other middle eastern countries. maureen: mike carter-conneen reports secretary of state got a warm reception today. >> he visited the international rescue community in silver spring to encourage the staff and the refugees they are resettling here. >> this is conducted against the backdrop of nasty politics. >> the appearance was meant to underscore president obama's

"state of the union" address promoting the white house plan to locate 10,000 refugees and taking aim at donald trump and the other 201067 gp contenders. president obama: we need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. >> republican response t viewers heard a similar message. >> in anxious times it can be tempting to follow the call of the angriest voices. we must resist the temptation. >> in the visit, kerry met with refugees with syria, iraq and the other countries. they fleed the violence in afghanistan with the wife and young daughter. they are now in baltimore. and he says he is well-aware of the trump call for temporary ban on muslim immigrants. >> i would feel bad. all the muslims are not bad. if a person does something wrong we can blame a person, not the whole entire religion. >> the i.r.c. opened the silver spring location in 2006. ever since it's assisted thousands of refugees from around the world. with immigration services, job

training and other needs. >> they arrive and want nothing more than freedom. >> so far in maryland they resettled 30 syrians but with the refugee crisis many more are expected. >> we anticipate resettling another hundred this year. mike: mike carter-conneen, abc7 news. leon: we are keeping an eye on a situation in adelphi where a two-alarm fair has been brought under control after a number of people had to be rescued from the structure. alison: more when we come back.

check this out, bro. what's that, broheim? i switched to geico and got more. more savings on car insurance? yeah bro-fessor, and more. like renters insurance. more ways to save. nice, bro-tato chip. that's not all, bro-tein shake. geico has motorcycle and rv insurance, too. oh, that's a lot more. oh yeah, i'm all about more, teddy brosevelt. geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more.

doug: we have an even split for the month of january. we will warm up tomorrow. but at the moment it's plenty cold. 23 in hagerstown now. 27 in winchester. 26 in baltimore. 28 in manassas. 30 at reagan national. just enough of a broze that wind chills are knocked down a few degrees and feels like 15 in hagerstown. feels like 24 in the capital.

we had sunshine and then bands of clouds moved through. it may give us a brief break. back to sunshine. winds turn southwest and the temperatures will go up a little bit. this is how the day will shape up. sunshine in the morning. a few clouds. sunny throughout the day. highs to 47 degrees. above average. not as cold. temperatures climb to 49 degrees before the heavy clouds and rain arrives. on monday bright sunshine. 32. colder tuesday. warmup will begin by next week. that is it from the centreville.

back to you. leon: what is going on? >> wizards need bradley beal. we have a big piece of the roster that may be back tonight. the guard beale has been out with a leg injury for a month. a big part of thepy saturdays offense. he -- of the wizards offense. averaging 19.8 a game before he left. inching closer to a comeback. at shoot-around and seemed to be at good spirits. he will be a game-time decision against the bucks. here is bradley for making return. >> it's tough. you want to be out there. you can't it's out of your control. the last few games are terrific. we have a good streak. keep it going. as much as i can i have to take care of it. be smart. if i me the okay, it's a matter of me being confident

with myself and my body. robert: reports so i that he will play tonight. so remember this kid? in september, noah cutler, like a smaller steph curry. at it again. this is video warming up before the game. he has crazy handles. we though that. finishes with the reverse layup. is but look at noah. if this isn't the same thing, i don't know what. some nba players can't do this. it's effortless for him. the producer says i should challenge the kid in a game of "horse." dangerous for me. >> and your ego. robert: exactly. and my ankles. for more on this and you want to revisit the story we did on noah in september log on to wjla.com. click on sports. one final note, the hoyas are on the road to take on st. john's and msg who lost seven straight. good thing. leon: i would pay to see you and the kid. robert: get money out.

i might be doing it. i might be. >> you got it. maureen: that is all for us now. we're going to break. we're going to leave you know, though, live pictures from meserot road in adellny, maryland, where there was a huge fire this afternoon. looks like the fire is just about put out. we understand that 12 people were rescued from the apartment building. this is in adelphi, maryland. had to be rescued by the firefighters and the ladder going to the top balcony of the building. most people have been fine. they have been taken to the hospitals. to be checked out. fire under control at this moment. leon: all right. everyone made it out of there safely. speaking of the fortunes tonight is the big night. you know about this? $1.5 billion powerball jackpot. everybody wants to know what happened. we'll have another drawing tonight.

but will we have a drawing without a winner? that would be insane. but we'll know about that at 11:00 tonight. so keep it tuned here on abc7 news. you will have continuing coverage and see if we have winners here. that would be good. maureen: what about the winners in the weather ball? doug: fine. cold day. pretty day. the winds diminish. good news. look at the next seven days. tomorrow a nice comeback. 47 degrees tomorrow afternoon. may have clouds in the morning and sunshine. clouds increase friday. 49 degrees. rain at night. lingering in saturday morning. clear out late in the day. flurries sunday. cold front. cold on monday. chilly weather. steve rudin has more to say about this tonight when he joins you at 11:00. leon: all right. maureen: "world news tonight" with david muir up next. leon: we will be here at 11:00. see you then. watch the tickets. have a good night. this price can't be right...

that's the right price! it's that low. what other things on this list "can't be right?" looks like a list full of "can't be right's." seriously? at giant, pricices are down. savings are up. my giant.

is so wholesome... and it doesn't take the whole paycheck. giant's exclusive nature's promise. eat well for less. my giant.

breaking news tonight. the video of american sailors. their hands on their heads. iran putting out the images. the americans needing and apologizing. tonight, how did they end up in iranian waters? and critics now saying iran is humiliating the u.s. breaking news, your money. the stock market and the deep dive today. tonight, what this means for your savings and your retirement. the escape from the economy. powerball fever tonight. we're just hours away now. $1.5 billion. and word this evening, the chinese buying powerball tickets, too. could they win this jackpot? she's the fast-rising republican star. tonight, donald trump taking aim at governor nikki haley after her message to trump, as millions watched last night. and the water emergency. the national guard now called in this evening. holo