WASHINGTON – A house fire that killed two people Sunday morning was caused by arson, D.C. Fire says. D.C. Fire and EMS were called to a house fire near 23rd Street and Southern Avenue Southeast around 5:30 a.m. Sunday. There, they found a 64-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman dead on the second floor of a townhome. They also rescued an 85-year-old woman with a ladder from the second floor. She was taken to the hospital in life-threatening condition.