right now at 11:00, the aftermath of this massive fire. what sparked the blaze that had flames engulfing fire trucks. >> plus heartbreak on maryland's eastern shore. a father and his seven children found dead. >> you couldn't ask for a better

father. you couldn't ask for a better man. >> tonight what loved ones say happened inside this home. and a local family demanding justice tonight, and they hope $10 million will give them answers about a police-involved shooting. news4 at 11:00 starts now. it was a three-alarm fire that could be seen from miles away. good evening. i'm doreen gentzler. >> i'm jim hanly in for jim vance. the flames were so powerful they every gulfed two fire engines. >> we begin with jackie bensen live at the scene where it all started. >> reporter: doreen, take a look behind me. it's still going on. you can see firefighters putting out the few remaining hot spots from this very destructive three-alarm fire. huge clouds of pitch black smoke

churned skyward for almost two hour. they were filled with the toxic gases that come from burning petroleum products. just after 5:00 p.m. 911 calls began pouring in about a fire at an industrial park on ashwood road in castle heights, maryland. >> it looked like it was about to be nighttime, like it was dusk. >> reporter: the firefighters returning from an earlier call they headed towards it. at the source of the flame, the unthinkable happened. at the same moment some propane tanks began exploding the wind shifted and blew a wall of flames over the fire engines. as flames swirled around them and with their own lives in danger knowing the monster fire would cause even more destruction if they did not stop it the firefighters valiantly tried to back the vexhicles out

and regroup. but it was too late. a fire engine from the west lanham hills volunteer fire department was a total loss at a cost of over $1.5 million. >> in the 34 years that i've been doing it we never lost two fire engines on a building fire. >> my biggest concern is that our crews are safe and no injuries. we can replace the fire trucks. >> reporter: the cause of the fire is under investigation. now, we spent the afternoon and evening on the south side of this fire. the wind was blowing to the north. that's where news4's chris lawrence is. chris, i understand they could see this from all over. >> reporter: jackie people here could smell it they could feel it in their lungs, but we have been hearing from people all over the area, and they've been e-mailing us tweeting us images of what they saw. for a few hours tonight a single black cloud stood out among the

monuments. but the ground it burned and burned and burned. and folks who lived nearby thought their neighborhood was on fire. >> it seemed like as if the sun was being blocked out it was so thick. >> oh my gosh. turn behind you. >> reporter: they shot in cell phone video of the black cloud blanketing the sky behind your homes. >> you can smell it. >> it smelled like burnt rubber and particles was flying from the smoke. >> but it was black where we were. >> reporter: so dark you could see it from -- >> hydesville, no problem. >> reporter: larry ward snapped this picture while working on a roof. >> i looked off in this direction and saw smoke, lots of smoke. >> this is a two-alarm fire. >> reporter: news4's city cam captured it live from all the way in northwest d.c. a fan of the nats game snapped this photo. you could see it from the ballpark in southeast. and this one came from a plane,

a woman flying into reagan national with a sight she won't soon forget. and it's something that neighbors and firefighters hope they don't see any time soon. >> chris, thank you. coverage doesn't end here. be sure to log on to nbcwashington.com or check out our app to see all the impressive viewer photographs that we got this evening. developing tonight. we're looking much more about the father and seven children who were found dead in their home on maryland's eastern shore. the father has been identified as rodney todd a supervisor from his job tells us that todd was raising his five girls and two boys on his own. he worked for dining services at nearby university of maryland eastern shore, but when todd didn't show up for work today, his supervisor reported him missing. this afternoon that supervisor says her worst fears were realized. >> he's in the house with a generator, and that's what you know, carbon monoxide poison

killed them. >> you couldn't ask for a better father. you couldn't ask for a better man. you know? he's been with his -- he's had his kids for three years by himself. >> the man and his children have not yet been identified. the children ranged in age from 6 to 16. new at 11:00 tonight, doctors are working to save the life of a teenager found shot in southeast d.c. that boy was found on 37th street here just before 8:00 tonight. he was unconscious and not breathing on the way to the hospital but police have not updated his condition. no word on what led to the shooting. a mother tonight is demanding justice after she lost her son in an officer-involved shooting and she hopes a $10 million lawsuit gets the attention of prince george's county as sheriffs deputies shot and killed ricardo minor in his home after an argument with his girlfriend. minor was unarmed but deputies say he ignored their commands

and made hand movements. his family wants that officer to be criminally indicted. >> knowing that we all have to leave here one day, but it's the way that he left. it's the way he left. shot three times. uh-uh. >> we reached out to the county to get its response to the lawsuit but have not heard back. the search for a woman who stabbed a metro station manager is over. detectives arrested 20-year-old melissa langley today at her home in southeast washington. the assault happened about three weeks ago at the stadium-armory station. she stabbed the station manager after a fare dispute. the manager was not seriously hurt. new tonight the search for two people who robbed a convenience store at gunpoint. the suspects run into the store with guns drawn. one goes behind the counter there while the other holds a gun to the cashier. this all happened early this morning on naylor road in southeast. if you have any information,

you're urged to call police. a university of virginia fraternity is ready to launch legal action over a discredited "rolling stone" article. the magazine accused phi phi kappa psi members of rape. the article violated basic journalistic practices. the author failed to verify facts, talk to those accused or to give the fraternity a chance to respond. the fraternity calls it reckless reporting and plans to pursue all available legal action. "rolling stone" has retracted its report. staying on top of a developing story tonight, 12 people in boston are making the most difficult decision of their lives. they're deliberating on the fate of dzhokhar tsarnaev who admits he is one of the boston bombers, but his lawyers claim his older brother masterminded the plot and dzhokhar just followed along. prosecutors today showed graphic photos to jurors showing the damage from the bomb dzhokhar

placed behind a family with young children. deliberations continue tomorrow. signs of tampering with gas lines in the rubble of a building have investigators looking to question the owner's son. a new york city building exploded last week and two people were killed. a plumber told investigators he'd been instructed to alter the gas lines that day, but it's not clear who told him to do it. the owner's son and the plumber were among the two dozen people burned in the explosion. a car with a 91-year-old man behind the wheel crashes through a home just moments after the people inside left. that man was backing out this afternoon when he accidentally hit the gas instead of the brakes and slammed into his neighbor's house across the street. the accident caused plenty of damage outside and inside this lanham home. but the folks inside were unhurt because the homeowner had just left with his 9-year-old son to run some errands. >> i would have been here.

>> yeah watching tv. >> i was panicked. so i hit the brakes then i hit the gas again, i guess. >> the elderly driver escaped serious injury and says he may give up driving now. next at 11:00, a mother's warning. >> she started with the headache the stiff neck. >> the rare parasite that claimed her daughter's life and the very common place you can find it. plus it was once a college hot spot but now this georgetown bar could soon be your next fashion destination. after a beautiful day outside today we have not one but two chances for rain. first4 traffic. overnight closures.

heartbreak for two families in prince george's county after two teen arrangeagers died in this crash. their car slammed into a recycling truck in beltsville this morning. marvin vancure and steven nester and a third passenger is in the hospital tonight. it appears a car crossed into the path of that truck and hit it head-on. investigators are still trying to find out why. tonight a california mother son a mission warning people about a brain-eating parasite that killed her daughter. the parasite is rare but it can

be found in the most common places. nbc's donya backus reports. >> reporter: koral reef's life was just beginning. she said yes to the dress and married her high school sweetheart and was looking forward to her happily ever after. but her mother believes a family trip to lake havasu in arizona changed everything. >> she started with the headaches, the stiff neck and the sensitivity to light and heat was bad. >> reporter: around thanksgiving of 2013 koral's family noticed something was wrong, but doctors were never truly able to pinpoint a cause. in september, she started losing her vision. >> they showed us the mri and the amoeba -- which they didn't know at the time it was an amoab ba but there was a mask covering the right side of her brain. >> reporter: in october she died. doctors say she had a rare but extremely deadly amoab ba called

balance balamuthia. >> only 13% of patients survive without any kind of treatment. >> reporter: the director of neurocare at the medical center says balamuthia is inhaled. it has been found in soil and dust. general symptoms make it hard to diagnose. >> the initial tests will come up. so for medical professionals, they need to know if the initial tests come up negative that a parasitic infection could be present. >> reporter: koral's mother is now raising awareness in her name hoping to keep others from experiencing the pain of losing a loved one. >> i don't think people understand how serious it can be. it's deadly. >> that was donya backus reporting. now there is a drug approved to treat the parasite but the medicine needs to be

administered very soon after you contract it. in koral's case it was too late. we're learning what will replace a popular georgetown bar. rhino bar closed after 18 years in business. now the washington journal reports that will soon reopen as a club monaco. the clothing store used to have locations in georgetown and pentagon city. it's set to open by early next year. if you want to get fit, move to arlington. the website livability.com just named it the sixth healthiest city in america. the website says arlington's access to exercise recreation healthy food and low obesity rate all factored into this ranking. minneapolis, minnesota, topped the list followed by camebridgecambridge, massachusetts and madison, wisconsin. the same website named arlington is healthiest county in all of vast last month. >> go arlington. >> the walking ad for arlington, doreen gentzler.

>> a great day to be working out outside today but maybe not so much tomorrow. >> you know yeah it wasn't bad by monday standards, it was pretty nice. tuesday we have a two-fer. two chances of rain. the first one just in time for the tuesday morning commute. that's a negative for sure, but most of the day tomorrow after about 9:00 10:00 in the morning, dry, dry, dry for many hours before another chance for rain comes in after about dinnertime. warm weather on the rebound. what a winner today turned out to be. 77 our high in washington making today the warmest day since back in late october. october 28th we made 80 degrees. haven't been anywhere near that till today. 79 in warrenton. 82 in culpepper and 80 in the shenandoah valley. 60 in martinsburg. still 70 in culpepper and our western shore communities today never really got quite as warm as the rest of us did.

in washington right now, 65 south wind. still averaging 13 miles per hour. but gusting to over 25 to near 30 miles per hour. so a noticeable south breeze will hold temperatures up tonight. generally into the 60s until early in the morning when i think it will drop finally back down to below the 60-degree mark. weather will have a bigger impact on your day tomorrow for sure. multiple rain chances, have the umbrella at the ready. so nice and mild. dry through 11:00 p.m. tonight. then showers coming in. for tomorrow hour by hour showers likely with temperatures in the upper 50s first thing. mild with a chance for some showers by 4:00. in the 70s by then. but more and more likely chances of showers with some thunderstorms coming in after dark tomorrow. so again the tuesday slowdowns, mainly the morning commute, then late evening thunderstorms coming our way. here you can see it on radar. clouds coming in from our north and west. this is leading to a rain chance

already. already raining out in morgan deny morgantown and a cloudy and mild start as well. raindrops for now are marching their way eastbound. these are three to four hours away. anything from 3:00 to 4:00 in the morning that's when rain chances ramp up here in the metro. drive time forecast wet roads first thing in the morning. passing showers later on in the afternoon. a warm one. don't get used to the warmth. we have a two-day trip back to the cooler weather for wednesday and thursday. not a total washout. the heaviest rain is late tuesday night into the early predawn hours of wednesday morning. drizzle and chilly on thursday. near 80 degrees again on friday. that comes with a risk of thunderstorms friday afternoon and friday night. that's all okay because it clears us out just in time for the weekend. both saturday and sunday look dry. temperatures back down closer to average into the upper 60s to right around 70 degrees.

but you know what? two dry days for the last week of the cherry blossoms. they'll be at peak this weekend. >> let's get the rain out of the way. >> with the drops goes the pollen too. >> thank you, chuck. still ahead, mistakes spoil the nats' opening day party.

a new form of innovation is taking shape, bringing media and technology together for more people.

together is more wi-fi access in more places. it's a home you control with the touch of a finger. it's reimaging tv to give more people more choices. it's bringing technology and people together in ways you never thought possible. comcast and time warner cable. together is better for more people.

this is the xfinity sports desk brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. hey, we've got 161 games left right?

>> that's a good way to look at it. very positive. new nats pitcher max scherzer made his debut. and max really got an honest taste of what it's like to play in d.c. there were many moments of greatness on the field, but somehow strange breakdowns cost the team the win against the mets. nats ready to defend their n.l. east division crown. matt williams ready to go in queer two. bryce harper come on he's always ready. faced bartolo colon. opening day. solo shot. third career opening day homer for bryce. nats up 1-0. love the hair. $210 million on the mound today for the nats and max scherzer proving why. eight strikeouts for scherzer in his nats debut. gonzalez supporting his pitcher. but the defense lets him down. dane ra wright. a little miscommunication

between him and dan uggla. look at scherzer. he'll be making that face a lot this season. nats pay for the next mistake. lucas duda breaks up the no-hitter for scherzer. curtis granderson and david wright score. two unearned runs. that is your final. scherzer takes the loss. >> any time you lose a ball game you always go back and look at what you could do better. even for myself. even though i threw the ball well i thought there's still things i could improve on. >> pitching awesome. the storyline was harper with the home run. you know just botched it. but we'll put that behind us quickly and ready to get the next game going. >> not all bad today for nats fans. new mlb commissioner rob manfred in town to announce the 2018 all-star game will be played at nats park. the game will take place ten years after the ballpark opened. everyone knows this is a great opportunity to really show off

nats park. look how pretty that looks. great time to show off the city. >> nationals park has already hosted a postseason but we think the all-star game will be another opportunity to showcase this fantastic facility. >> it's good. it's good. you know that's a sign to the world, to baseball that this place is for real. >> all right. down in tampa, the orioles opening up on the road against the rays. birds up 1-0. diaza smacks this one deep right to center. this is out of there. two-run shot. o's taking the 3-1 lead. crazy play here. travis snider takes it to right. comes off the wall. paul pierce is on his horse. he's coming around from first. relay throw. he beats pierce by a mile. it should be an automatic out here. easy. no. he slid right under it. birds win it though 6-2.

let's go out to indianapolis right now. here is a live look where duke just won the ncaa tournament. this is the fifth national championship for duke. we all had it being kentucky but duke was able to wrap it up and they are the winners. a good run. that game was great. a rough game. ♪ ♪ know you can keep your financial big picture under control.

know you can see how much you have to spend and whether you should transfer funds. know you can easily keep track of what you're putting away. and know you're budgeted for the great escape. thanks to virtual wallet by pnc. ♪ ♪

well if you're going to be

up late tonight, you might want to tune in in about an hour. news4 will make a subtle appearance on "late night." very subtle. every night host seth meyers has a different nbc affiliate's coffee mug on his desk. tonight it's our turn. "late night" airs at 12:35 monday through friday here on channel 4. check it out. but don't stay up too late if you got to commute tomorrow. >> that's right. a week ago friday i was on jimmy fallon for almost three whole seconds. the first day of spring montage he put on there. it's huge. i'm still waiting for the roy amounty y alty check. >> you could buy a cup of coffee with that. >> that's about all i'm going to get. two chances of rain tomorrow. most likely wet on the morning drive in probably not wet on the drive home but showers and thundershowers likely tomorrow later on in the evening. cool and kind of rainy on wednesday. back near 80 on friday with a chance of thunderstorms coming

back in. all anyone cares about is the weekend and the weekend is looking amazing. thunderstorm chances tomorrow yes, but not really a severe weather threat. take it as it comes. >> get the bad weather out of the way in time for the weekend. why do we do it? why do we spend every waking moment, thinking about people? why are we so committed to keeping you connected? why combine performance with a conscience? why innovate for a future without accidents? why do any of it? why do all of it? because if it matters to you it's everything to us. the xc60 crossover. from volvo. lease the well-equipped volvo xc60 today. visit your local volvo showroom for details.

>> steve: from studio 6b in rockefeller center in the heart of new york city, it's "the tonight show starring jimmy fallon." tonight, join jimmy and his guests -- michael douglas, kat dennings musical guest, st. vincent