Seeking to supplement too much summer lounging or interning with a little bit of culture? Look no further than this year’s Capital Fringe Festival, which runs from today through the 24th at various theatres across the city.

The term “Fringe Festival” usually refers to a performing arts-based festival with an emphasis on non-censorship, accessibility to viewers, accommodation of the artists themselves, and most importantly, originality. Fringe Festivals worldwide find their origins in a theatre festival which ran in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1947 as an alternative to more mainstream Edinburgh International Festival. The concept of ‘fringe’ was coined by a journalist a year later, and since then the concept has caught on worldwide.

The District’s fringe festival has run since 2005 and is operated by D.C. nonprofit Capital Fringe, which writes on the festival’s website that their mission is to “connect exploratory artists with adventurous audiences by creating outlets and spaces for creative, cutting-edge, and contemporary performance in the District.”

Last year, the festival featured 715 performances and over 2,000 artists, and this year’s Capital Fringe Festival is expected to feature over 100 different groups performing across a dozen stages. This year’s lineup includes shows ranging from an Oregon Trail musical to a biker gang rendition of King Lear. Stay tuned for reviews of upcoming shows and check out the full lineup here.

At around 12:30 p.m., a fire broke out behind Hook restaurant on the 3200 block of M Street. Smoke poured out into the street, causing damage to nearby Saloun and Tackle Box.

Firetrucks arrived on the scene fifteen minutes later, closing off the block while they tried to fight the blaze. According to D.C. Fire & EMS spokesman Pete Piringer, nearly 100 firefighters responded to the emergency. The fire was largely extinguished by 1:00 p.m.

All employees and patrons were successfully evacuated, according to Hook and Tackle Box spokeswoman Dannia Hakki. Hook suffered severe damage, and both restaurants will remained closed for the next couple of days.

h/t Georgetown Patch, Photo by Lauren Sausser

Update (Tuesday, 3:00 p.m.): The Office of Communication issued an update on the employee’s condition. “He sustained serious but not life threatening, injuries, is in stable condition and conscious. He has family with him at the hospital.”

Update (2:05 p.m.): The Office of Communication confirmed that the victim was a University employee. He was performing maintenance and repairs on the field on top of Yates when he fell down the shaft pictured below.

Update (1:42 p.m.): University officials, including representatives of public safety and facilities management, met on Kehoe Field next to the site of the accident (see vent in the bottom right corner of the first image) around 1:00 p.m. There is still no word of a statement from the University.

Photos by John Flanagan

At around 10:00 a.m. this morning, DC Fire and EMS reported that a man – presumed to be a University employee – fell 15 feet into a vent shaft at Yates Field House. Peter Piringer, director of public information at DC Fire and EMS, told Vox that GERMS and DC Fire worked together to extract the man and load him onto a U.S. Park Police helicopter to transport him to the hospital. He could not confirm whether the victim had been taken to George Washington Hospital or Washington Hospital Center, both of which have level I trauma centers. The victim has been taken to Washington Hospital Center, which has a level I trauma center

The University was not available for comment at the time of writing.

An accident at Georgetown’s on-campus heating and cooling plant left one man injured and multiple buildings without power this morning.

The man, a worker in the plant, was electrically shocked and transported to Georgetown University Hospital to be evaluated, according to DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesperson Pete Piringer. The extent of the worker’s injuries is unknown at this time.

GERMS was initially dispatched to the scene at 10:56 a.m. and transported the injured worker to GU Hospital’s Department of Emergency Medicine at 11:02 a.m. According to GERMS President Colin Brody (COL ’11), DC Fire EMS responded shortly thereafter.

After the accident, power outages were reported in Healy Hall, Copley Hall, White-Gravenor Hall, and Lauinger Library.

According to DC Fire EMS’s Twitter account, the accident occurred in a “chiller plant” within the heating and cooling plant.

Chillers are often used on college campuses and other large residential complexes to produce cold water for air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Georgetown’s heating and cooling plant is located directly south of the Yates Field House.

Photo and reporting: Geoffrey Bible

11:45 a.m. update: According to TBD and the Georgetown Patch, the 36-year-old construction worker involved in this morning’s accident died from the injuries sustained in the accident.

The contractor, who was pinned down by a forklift, was freed by her coworkers and given CPR before emergency crews arrived on the scene.

According to Rachel Pugh, director of media relations, the Whiting Turner contractor was taken to the George Washington University Hospital by DC Fire and EMS. The scene is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Original post: A construction worker at Georgetown University was severely injured Wednesday morning in an accident, according to DC Fire and EMS.

The worker was a priority one transport for traumatic injuries at approximately 8:30 this morning. The DC Fire and EMS twitter account later noted that the worker was pinned under a forklift and had serious, life-threatening injuries.

A construction worker at the site of the science building currently under construction on campus confirmed for Vox that it was the location of the accident.

5:20 p.m. update:

The following email was sent to the campus community this afternoon.

March 16, 2011
Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
This morning an employee of Cleveland Construction Company, a subcontractor of Whiting-Turner Construction, was injured on the construction site of the new science center on campus. The D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene and transported the individual to George Washington University Hospital.
Our construction manager for this project, Whiting-Turner Construction, informed us later this morning that the worker’s injuries were fatal.  Out of respect for the needs of workers, the jobsite has been shut down for the day.  The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are investigating the incident.  At this time it is not clear whether the injuries were work related or due to some kind of medical emergency.  Our thoughts and prayers remain with the individual’s family, coworkers and personnel impacted by this sad news.  University officials remain in touch with Whiting-Turner and are available to support the family as needed during this time.
We are deeply saddened by these events and are working with Whiting-Turner to determine the most appropriate way to move forward on this important project.
Sincerely,
Spiros Dimolitsas, PhD
Senior Vice President & Chief Administrative Officer

Photo: Matt Funk