D.C. Activists Brizill, Imhoff Get Help From Relief Committee After Fire

After a fire destroyed the home of two D.C. activists, some prominent District leaders are banding together to help the couple get back on track. 

Whether it was through Dorothy Brizill's tenacious vetting of political appointees, her dogged questioning of politicos at press conferences, or the DC Watch website that she and her husband Gary Imhoff started, the couple has left an indelible mark on local politics. 

DC Watch began, in part, because the city was slow in building its own website, and the couple used it to aggressively monitor waste and fraud in the city government. 

A two-alarm fire engulfed their home in Columbia Heights last month, destroying everything, including three decades of records and photographs. To help the couple rebuild, a group of prominent city leaders and activists calling themselves the Emergency Reilief Fund for Brizill and Imhoff Advisory Committee have launched an emergency relief fund.

The couple's insurance company has, thus far, refused to honor their claim for fire insurance, according to the group, which includes prominent authors, attorneys, and leaders of some of the most powerful civic boards and labor unions in the city.

The committee is seeking donations from individuals and organizations, as well as non-cash items.