Yes, Actually, It Is Hot Enough For Me: Leave town. Now. That's the only reasonable advice for how to deal with the early heat wave that's suffocating the region today—it is, after all, still only spring. The high temperature at National Airport was 102 degrees, tying a record first set in 1874, and combined with last summer's ridiculous heat, makes this the first back-to-back years with three-digit temperatures in June since 1933-34. We had a joke to make here, but we went outside a few hours ago, and our brains are still recovering. -4

We Don't Need No Water: No matter how well the city trains its firefighters, no matter how quickly they respond to calls, and no matter how well people in a burning building remember their "stop, drop, and roll" elementary school-era instructions, there's one essential component to dealing with any fire: water. This year, unlike in past years, there should be enough of it if it's needed. Fire hydrants and underground pipes like the ones that failed in blazes at the Georgetown Library in 2007 and Peggy Cafritz Cooper's house in 2009 are now in good shape, officials say. The city set a goal of having not more than 1 percent of hydrants out of service at any one time; as of June 1, the total was .41 percent. Which is good news for everyone except the people who live on whatever block the hydrant's busted on. +2

Crimefighters-R-Us: Constituent service is the lifeblood of local politics. Here in the District, Yvette Alexander really means it, apparently. The Ward 7 D.C. Council member helped catch a guy who'd stolen a Kindle near Freedom Plaza Wednesday, then yelled at the unlucky thief as Fox 5's cameras rolled. Phil Mendelson, who chairs the public safety committee, better watch out; Alexander has hands-on experience now. +2

Two If By Sea: Driving during rush hour is bad for blood pressure; taking Metro means unexplained delays and rising fares. How about getting to work by boat? Evidently, that won't work either; American River Taxi, which launched a Southwest waterfront-to-Georgetown route in April, has shut its morning service down. The ride was $8, and took 30 minutes, making it both more expensive and slower than other, non-riparian forms of public transit. Then again, maybe it'd be worth it to be able to respond to emails on the way to work with a simple, "I'm on a boat." -1

Yesterday's Needle rating: 57 Today's score: -1 Today's Needle rating: 56

So far, no one's quite sure why lobbyist Ashely Turton's car burst into flames on Jan. 10, killing her. Metropolitan Police Department officials tell us the death of the 37-year-old is still under investigation, and an Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruling on cause and manner of death is still pending. But Turton's body suffered burns, so the fire that erupted along or inside her 2008 BMW X5 sport-utility vehicle was obviously a factor.

In trying to figure out what happened to Turton—a mother of three, and the wife of Obama administration liaison to Capitol Hill, Daniel A. Turton—police and fire investigators have theorized there was an accident. The theory is that while heading from her home in the 800 block of A Street SE to work at around 5 a.m., Turton was in a low-speed crash. Colliding with her garage, Turton may have ignited something flammable stored there. The vehicle then ignited.

But some think the fire might be due to a mechanical failure. BMW North America spokesperson Thomas Plucinsky is aware of the possibility. He says BMW has been contacted by investigators from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about Turton's car. Plucinsky, who says the company is "shocked and saddened by the death of Ashley Turton," also says BMW has been "cooperating" with the investigators as they probe the tragedy. But though authorities have been asking for things like the warranty records for Turton's vehicle, Plucinsky says "there's no indication it's the cause of the fire."

Message boards indicate X5s have caught fire before, though. "I pulled into the garage (inside a 170 unit condo building!), turned off the ignition, went inside, and within 15 minutes there are 8 fire trucks outside, and my X5 was engulfed in flames," one user posts in a forum. "My insurance company and some independent company took the car apart and concluded that the accessory fan overheated and caught fire." The forum has about 40 similar accounts.

Plucinsky says that problem sounds familiar, but that it's a thing of the past. The 2001 X5 had an electrical problem that could cause a vehicle to overheat and catch fire like that. But he says the problem was corrected through a recall, and none of the other models since have been fire hazards. "We have no reports of 2008 X5s catching fire," he states.

According to the NHTSA database, at least, Plucinsky is right. Of the 22 complaints submitted to the government office about the 2008 X5, none involve fire. But those are official reports.

One message board poster, Hope Pessis, of Marina del Rey, Calif., tells City Desk her 2002 X5 caught fire in 2006, and that she knows of other, similar blazes. "I have received e-mails from all over the world from people who's[sic] BMWX5 went up in flames in the same manner as mine," she says.

Asked about Pessis' 2002 going up in smoke, Plucinsky changes his story a little. He says it's possible that even though it wasn't a 2001, Pessis' vehicle was of  the same "generation" as that model, a design produced until 2007. He claims the car Turton drove, on the other hand, was of the later generation.

There are websites that claim BMW fires are a longstanding problem the company has ignored. If investigators link Turton's death to mechanical problems with the car, BMW can expect some fallout. It's still early in the investigation, though, and BMW seems earnestly concerned about the fire. It was clear that Plucinsky has been following Turton's story closely.

Photo by jeffwilcox via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0 Generic

Arbeit Macht High: Probably just about every day, some dopey American college student visiting Amsterdam stumbles into the Anne Frank House tripping their face off on mushrooms, only to discover that nothing harshes a buzz like genocide. (Years ago, this happened to some friends of ours, and if they're reading, we hope they're still ashamed.) A few Stafford County, Va., high school students on a field trip to the District learned the very same lesson yesterday, as two were taken to the hospital with a drug overdose while visiting the National Holocaust Museum. What would possess someone to get high before visiting the Holocaust Museum is hard to imagine, but remember: Just say no to drugs. And Nazis. -1

School's Out: Every kid has had the dream—they're on vacation, only to learn that their school has burned down and they never have to go back! It very nearly happened today for students at the Takoma Educational Center in Ward 4; a three-alarm fire seriously damaged the school, which was, fortunately, mostly empty, winter vacation having started earlier this week. And sorry, kiddos: You will probably go to some alternate location next month when you return to classes. -2

So Fresh, So Clean: Cross off yet another reason for your snooty New Yorker friends to look down on the District—online grocery delivery service FreshDirect is planning to expand to D.C. soon, challenging Giant's PeaPod service. The e-tailer is looking to raise $200 million to start operations here (most of which it will probably make back within a few weeks of delivering organic grass-fed brisket). Yeah, yeah, we know, the subway still runs all night and Metro doesn't. +3

Peace Out, Feds: Every national elected official from members of Congress to President Obama is clearing out of town, leaving just us locals around for the holidays—with a full 1/6 of the U.S. House skipping out on the final votes of the busy lame-duck session today. We don't want to stir up too much trouble, but it would be an opportune moment for Almost Mayor Vince Gray to stage a coup d'etat and occupy the White House as Obama heads to Hawaii. ¡Hasta la victoria siempre, D.C.! Let's seize those voting rights while we can! Or at least put the "taxation without representation" license plates on the presidential limo. +2

Yesterday's Needle rating: 57 Today's score: +2 Today's Needle rating: 59

3600 Block of 16th Street NW, November 22

The Georgetown Public Library reopens Monday. (Photo by Michael E. Grass)

If you happened to watch the Georgetown Public Library go up in smoke back on April 30, 2007, you had to assume that the building and its contents were largely lost to the conflagration. There were fears that the library's historic Peabody Collection—essentially, Georgetown's civic archives—were a complete loss. (Earlier that day, Eastern Market was also the scene of a destructive fire.) But all was not lost. In fact, the bulk of the library's historic collections were saved, thanks in large part to the library's cupola falling to the west instead of to the east and post-fire restoration of damaged documents, books and artifacts.

Today, the library at the corner of Wisconsin Avenue and R Street NW is reopening following its massive rebuilding.

Ironically, the library was built atop a former reservoir that was once part of the Washington Aqueduct. The wall and trident-ornamented fence that surround the library and Book Hill Park are remnants of the old reservoir. (Too bad firefighters weren't able to rely on Poseidon to help put out the flames.)

The Georgetown Public Library under reconstruction earlier this spring. (Photo by Michael E. Grass)

On Second Thought, Don't RSVP: Eloping is hard enough when you're a public figure. Eloping when you're a public figure and you've already sent out invitations to the wedding that's been described as the social event of the year (albeit in Sacramento)? Downright rude. But DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee and her fiancé, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, didn't let that stop them. Freaked out about the scale of the event, they've been sending e-mails to guests they'd invited for Sept. 4, telling them the wedding is still on—just minus the guests. Don't worry—you can still buy them a gift (perhaps a nice $311 sauceboat?) off their registry. -2

Burn, Baby, Burn: Three scooters are found wrapped around a tree near 16th Street and Arkansas Avenue NW early this morning, ablaze. No sooner is the fire put out than another one breaks out in the same spot, this time consuming four cars. Either a serious firebug is on the loose, or Vespa is launching an aggressive viral marketing campaign for its rumored new model, the Vespa Fuoco. On the plus side, at least no one has speculated that the fires were set by "eco-terrorists"—yet. -4

SmarTrip Gets Dumber: Changes announced today mean Metro passengers will no longer be able to run a negative balance on their SmarTrip accounts; a trip that costs more than what's left on the card will require a stop at the dreaded ExitFare machines, which only take cash and—for now—don't even work with SmarTrip at all. Metro claims the move is necessary because the cost of the cards will fall from $5 to $2.50. Which means for the first time in a while, a cut in quality of service is accompanied by a price decrease, instead of an increase. -2

Yes We Can (Have Food Trucks)!: Two years after Barack Obama rewrote the rules for online politics, the power of motivated grassroots activists is on display once again, as an organized campaign to fight back against new D.C. regulations on food trucks sweeps the local blogosphere. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs officials even agreed to extend a deadline for the public to weigh in on the rules until tomorrow, in response to higher-than-usual interest. Change—and lobster rolls!—is on the march. +3

Yesterday's Needle rating: 41 Today's score: -5 Today's Needle rating: 36

The lone surviving piece of political propaganda after the first Capitol Lounge fire, circa 2005

Popular H Street NE hangout The Argonaut is closed following an apparent kitchen fire on Sunday morning. Photos of the extensive damage have been posted on the place's own web site, which also dishes up some details on the Argo's post-blaze hangover:  

Most of you may not know this, but our kitchen used to be an alley. Which means that the wall separating the kitchen and the bar is an "outside wall" and is several layers of brick. We are very thankful for that brick wall – it helped contain the fire.

Prolific tavern operator Joe Englert, who owns the Argonaut, is no stranger to the inherent fire hazards of the bar and restaurant business. His lawyers just settled a lawsuit with the Hartford Casual Insurance Company over damages associated with a 2007 blaze at one of Englert's other locations, Capitol Lounge on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, according to court records. That fire also damaged the neighboring Trover Shops, which Hartford had insured.

I'm referring to the second Capitol Lounge fire, of course, not the first. Both were reportedly started by errant cigarettes. The first fire, in 2005, radically altered this reformed nightlife reporter's position on D.C.'s smoking ban (although the link to that old City Paper article is, apparently and rather regretably, no longer available).

Argonaut management is organizing a benefit at the neighboring Englert-owned Rock and Rock Hotel on June 30, with proceeds going to help repair the fire damage.

Photo by DCist/Creative Commons Attribution License

The two workers were removing carpet and glue from a floor in a building called New North, using lacquer thinner. Moments later, they plugged in a floor stripping machine–and things went kaboom. The machine evidently ignited the cloud of  chemical vapors that had collected in the room. The resulting blaze, which occurred at about 2:45 a.m,  burned both workers.

Piringer emails: "Initially the injuries were thought to be serious, with possible respiratory involvement, but it is no[w] expected that they will be treated and released, possibly today or tomorrow. Both were treated for minor burns to the face, hands and arms."

Officials prevously suspected the men might have severe burns and respiratory damage.

Piringer says the blaze was put out by a sprinkler system. He estimates that the building sustained about $40,000 worth of damage.

Georgetown Voice blog Vox Populi has pics.

UPDATED 5:55 P.M.

Smoke billowed this afternoon from the roof of Eastern Senior High School, which is nearing the end of a $76 million renovation.

According to D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, firefighters responded to reports of heavy black smoke coming from the building's roof shortly before 4:30 p.m. By 4:45, a second alarm had been called. East Capitol Street is closed east of Lincoln Park.

By 5:10, the smoke had stopped coming from the roof, and a police officer on the scene reported that the blaze was under control.

The school, built in 1932, has been closed since 2008 for a thorough renovation and had been scheduled to reopen this fall (although D.C. Public Schools officials recently backed off that timeline). Fire department spokesperson Pete Piringer said a "minimal amount of people" were in the building, which was quickly evacuated without incident. It's unclear if construction work was underway at the time.

Earlier today, a fire broke out at the Turner @ Green Elementary School, at 1500 Mississippi Ave. SE, causing damage to the school's playground and the building facade. Congress Heights on the Rise reported from the scene.

Photo, reporting by Arthur Delaney

UPDATE, 5:55 P.M.: The fire is out, Piringer reports from the scene. Construction crews were on the roof at Eastern today, he says, applying a waterproof rubberized membrane when the fire broke out; the roofers all escaped without incident. The blaze was contained to the roof, Piringer says, adding that any smoke or water damage to the rest of the building is "minimal."

The fire is likely accidental, Piringer says, and there looks to be no connection to the fire at Turner @ Green. That fire "totaled" playground equipment, while causing "superficial damage" to the building itself. The cause of that fire is under investigation.

Two years after the fact, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells has gone on the record suspecting that the Eastern Market fire was arson. Wells tells the Voice of the Hill:

"'I have a tremendous amount of suspicion that it was arson,' Wells told the Voice immediately after the market reopened Friday."

Eastern Market re-opened today with the expected fanfare. Which is great. But it doesn't erase the screw-ups surrounding that massive blaze. In December 2007, we wrote a piece addressing the concerns of numerous fire fighters that the Eastern Market case was arson. Two arson investigators got bounced off their beat for making their concerns known.

It will be interesting to see what Wells does after all the celebrations this weekend. If he truly suspects foul play, what will he do about it? Will he fight for the jobs of those arson investigators? Will he hold a hearing on the fire? Will he question Fire Chief Dennis Rubin who insisted on an electrical cause for so long?

Fire, 1980's