THE DISTRICT

Firefighters rescue several from blaze

D.C. firefighters used ladders to rescue several occupants of a second-floor apartment during an early Tuesday blaze in Southeast Washington, officials said.

One person suffered minor injuries, and the American Red Cross helped at least five others displaced from the apartment in the 100 block of Xenia Street SE, near Washington Highlands.

The fire department said on Twitter the fire broke out around 4 a.m. A cause of the fire has not yet been determined.

— Peter Hermann

MARYLAND

Arson is ruled in fire that killed two men

A house fire that claimed the lives of two men last week has been ruled arson, Prince George’s County authorities said Tuesday.

Prince George’s police detectives are handling the investigation into the fire that started around 5:30 a.m. Thursday in a vacant house in the 63oo block of Foote Street in Seat Pleasant, Md.

Firefighters found the two men inside the home as they worked to put out the flames, police said.

The state medical examiner determined they died of smoke inhalation, though the exact manner of death has not been determined, police said.

Authorities identified Tuesday the men who died but are awaiting notifications to their families before releasing their names, police said.

— Lynh Bui

Man calls police, says he killed girlfriend

A 50-year-old man was in custody Tuesday morning after he called police and told them that he had killed his girlfriend inside their Montgomery County home, authorities said.

Authorities said they received a call from the suspect about 6:45 a.m. He said that he had killed his girlfriend and that he was outside the home. When officers arrived in the 11000 block of Bradbury Manor Court in the White Oak area of Silver Spring, they found him and took him into custody without incident.

The suspect was identified by police as Anthony Miguel Strong.

The woman, 43-year-old Chaunya Michalyn Blackwell, was found dead inside the home. Police said she suffered what appeared to be trauma to her body. Her body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Baltimore to determine an exact cause of death, officials said.

The homicide remains under investigation. Police asked anyone with information about the incident to contact them at 240-773-5070.

— Dan Morse and Dana Hedgpeth

Five are exposed to substance at school

Five people were taken to a hospital Tuesday after being exposed to an unknown substance at a Silver Spring school, officials said.

Around 11:50 a.m., authorities responded to John F. Kennedy High School in the 1900 block of Randolph Road, according to a tweet from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer.

Derek Turner, a spokesman for Montgomery County Public Schools, said a white, powdery substance in a plastic bag was found in a student’s possession and taken to a conference room by staff, where it spilled.

Five staff members complained of “minor dizziness and discomfort,” Turner said, and were hospitalized “out of an abundance of caution.”

No students were hospitalized, officials said, and the incident remains under investigation.

— Justin Wm. Moyer