911 caller falsely claims White House fire after series of swatting incidents

Emergency responders in Washington on Monday were dispatched to a false alarm at the White House after a 911 caller claimed there was a structure fire in the building.

Noah Gray, the chief communications officer for D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services, said its units were dispatched to the White House just after 7 a.m. after receiving a call about a fire in the building. He said that in coordination with the Secret Service, responders determined there was no fire emergency.

The issue was resolved by 7:16 a.m., Gray noted. President Biden was in Camp David at the time of the call. He later headed to Philadelphia for a service trip marking Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

There has been a series of swatting incidents involving public officials and offices over the past month. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan, special counsel Jack Smith and numerous members of Congress have been recent victims of swatting incidents.

An official familiar with the incident told The Hill they would not describe it as a swatting, but they said it was “in the same spirit” of similar incidents involving public officials. The official also said that there was no SWAT team response.

The Secret Service declined to comment on the incident and referred The Hill to D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services.