we spoke to john mecum. he lives in the bottom of the. his place was destroyed. he was out of town when the fire broke out. >> i woke up this morning to people texting and facebook messaging me saying are you okay, are you okay. >> reporter: and john mecum says he is fortunate to be alive. he says two people lived on the top floor of this three-story apartment. and the homeowner and possibly another person lived on the second floor. officials have not released the names of the victims. they're expected to be released over the next couple of days. live in northwest d.c., i'm shomari stone news4. >>> tonight more than 100 people gathered to remember a woman shot and killed in a target parking lot this week. family and friends hold a vigil for sade at seneca high school. we'll hear from them and the message they have a little later in our newscast. >>> searchers will be back at work in the morning looking for a missing swimmer in the potomac river. two young men were swimming in the river when they ran into trouble this afternoon. only one of them got out. and today

. >> reporter: john mecum feels lucky to be alive after a fire destroys a house where he rented a room. he wasown when the thick smoke and flames ripped through the home last week on riggs place near dupont circle. >> i went inside for the first time this morning and just saw everything dark and wet and it's gone. >> reporter: today he snapped cell phone photos of the damage. >> yeah i wasn't even supposed to be out of town. it was a last-minute assignment that sent me to new york. and i wake up on wednesday morning to text messages and facebook messages. >> reporter: friends also shared the tragic news about the tenants upstairs. 25-year-old nina breckleman and 24-year-old michael mclaughlin died in the blaze. they lived in separate rooms on the third floor. john used to rent nina's room before he moved downstairs. >> i visualized myself in that room after hearing what had happened. and it is not a pleasant thought. >> reporter: he says it's unpleasant to know according to "the washington post" the cause of the fire was accidental, electrical in origin. >> who could have predicted? wh