Engine Malfunction, Not Explosion, Caused Arlington Amazon Van Fire, Officials Say
ARLINGTON, Virginia – A routine Sunday afternoon was shattered by thick plumes of black smoke on June 29, 2025, as an Amazon delivery van became fully engulfed in flames on a busy Arlington street. While dramatic footage and initial social media posts sparked fears of a vehicle explosion in the nation’s capital, authorities have confirmed the incident was a fire caused by a malfunctioning engine, with no explosion and no injuries.
The Arlington County Fire & EMS department received calls for a vehicle fire in the 2200 block of South Clark Street, near the intersection with 23rd Street South in the Crystal City neighborhood. Arriving units, including Engine 105, found a black Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, operated for Amazon, completely consumed by fire that was beginning to spread to adjacent shrubbery.
“Units responded to a fully involved vehicle fire that was extending into the bushes,” the Arlington Fire & EMS stated in a public release. “E105 quickly extinguished the delivery vehicle fire.”
Officials were quick to dispel rumors that had begun to swirl online. “This was a gas-powered vehicle that caught fire due to a malfunctioning engine,” the department clarified. “There was no explosion, and no packages were involved.”
The driver of the van escaped without harm, and no firefighters sustained injuries during the operation.
The incident’s location, just miles from the Pentagon and downtown Washington D.C., likely contributed to its rapid escalation on social media platforms. Hashtags and posts incorrectly claimed a “massive car explosion” had occurred in D.C., with some falsely attributing it to a car bomb. The dramatic visuals of the thick smoke, visible for miles, lent a misleading air of credibility to the false reports.
Emergency officials used their own social media channels to actively counter the misinformation. By providing prompt, factual updates, the Arlington Fire & EMS department was able to correct the narrative, emphasizing the true cause and confirming that there was no threat to public safety.
The Arlington County Fire Marshal’s office has launched an investigation to determine the precise cause of the engine malfunction. While the specific details are pending, the incident has drawn attention to past safety concerns regarding the popular commercial vans. In March 2023, Mercedes-Benz issued a recall for approximately 53,000 Sprinter vans from the 2019 and 2020 model years due to a fire risk. The recall identified a fault in the climate control system’s wiring harness that could overheat and ignite. It has not yet been determined if the van involved in Sunday’s fire was subject to this or any other recall.
For now, officials are focused on the specifics of this case, reassuring the public that the situation was contained efficiently and without harm to any individuals.
