A mansion owned by the UAE Embassy in Northern Virginia, the US, has been destroyed by fire.

Six people and two dogs were rescued during the incident at the property in McLean, which is 13km outside Washington, DC.

The five-bedroom, six-bathroom house, valued at US$2.7 million (Dh9.9m), was destroyed on Saturday morning.

It was believed the fire started in the kitchen. It took more than 12 hours for fire crews to fully extinguish.

There was a 30-minute delay in tackling the blaze because there were no fire hydrants nearby.

The Washington Post reported residents have taken up concerns with county officials about a lack of hydrants in a neighbourhood full of multimillion-dollar homes.

akhaishgi@thenational.ae