At approximately 3:25 this morning, Tuesday, February 20, 2007, members of the DC Fire Department responded for a fire on the second floor of a private home located in the 1200 block of Florida Avenue, NE. Firefighters located 79-year-old Rose Hill, of the Florida Avenue address, in an unconscious condition on the second floor.  Emergency medical personnel could find no signs consistent with life.  She was taken to the Office of the DC Medical Examiner and pronounced dead.  An 80-year-old male, of the Florida Avenue address, was located on the first floor of the home and taken to the George Washington University Hospital for observation.

The fire is currently under investigation by the Arson and Explosives Task Force composed of members of the DC Fire Department, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Metropolitan Police Department.  The preliminary investigation indicates that smoking appears to be the cause of the fire.