Fairfax ruins

Fairfax ruins are the destroyed remains of a town in the Capital Wasteland, located south of Vault 101, east of Fort Independence, and north of Andale.

Background
The Brotherhood Outcasts and local raiders are engaged in a stalemate, fighting over the town - while the Outcasts have fortified Fort Independence, they are constantly being harassed by degenerates camped out in the city. Despite superior training and technology, the Outcasts have not occupied the town proper for reasons unknown.

Exterior
The ruins consist of the main street, several alleys and destroyed houses. Raiders fill the area and are well-armed. North of the main road, running through the center of the town east to west, is the entrance to the metro tunnels. There are also several manholes leading to the utility tunnels. There are also various traps that may attract the raiders' attention if set off. You may also run in to frag mines by fast-traveling here. Outside one of the houses on the outskirts of town, is a gas valve that, when repaired, allows you to burn enemies by shooting them inside the house.

Utility tunnels
The main entrance to the utility tunnels is a grating in the floor that collapses into a small rectangular hole in the center of Fairfax Ruins. A far less defended entrance to the tunnels is a manhole located to the northwest of the ruins to the east of the Brotherhood Outcast base. Inside are several ammunition boxes, raiders, aid items, and other loot.

There is also a separate subway tunnel in the center of Fairfax Ruins guarded by two raiders. This subway has no links to any other areas, but there are various ammunition boxes lying around. When entering the tunnel, there are some mines as well as a shotgun trap close to the entrance. The tunnel is, like the rest of Fairfax Ruins, only inhabited by raiders.

Inhabitants
The place is now full of raiders, whose numbers depend on the character's current level. They are mostly armed with missile launchers, combat shotguns, and assault rifles, and some may wield a flamer, or even 10mm submachine guns.
 * After Broken Steel is loaded, to the north of the ruins, the Enclave have set up an outpost with a deathclaw cage which will appear after the player has done the quest, The Waters of Life. Upon approaching the camp, there will usually be three soldiers and two officers present, but their numbers can change depending on the player's level. The soldiers are sometimes armed with flamers and will be busy executing several wastelanders enclosed in a cage, which may explain the bodies. This observation also suggests that a deathclaw cage was being used as a makeshift execution chamber. An Enclave Hellfire trooper may be included in their ranks.

Notable loot

 * U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes in the car dealership east of Fairfax Ruins. It's sitting on top of a generator in the higher area to the left. Listen for the generator.
 * Another U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes can be found in Dot's Diner to the south. However, it's much easier to find by going north from the Nuka-Cola Plant.
 * Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual in the Fairfax station on the rubble below the mezzanine next to the east escalator.
 * Nuka-Cola Quantum in an overturned truck under the highway south of the ruins (towards Andale).
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor, in the concrete treehouse south of the ruins.

Appearances
The Fairfax ruins appear only in Fallout 3.

Behind the scenes

 * Fairfax Ruins are the ruins of real-world Fairfax, VA. However, the ruins in Fallout 3 are comparatively smaller than the true town and the location is much closer to downtown Washington DC than depicted in the game.

Bugs

 * You may (rarely) encounter Defender Morgan somewhere in Fairfax Ruins either still fighting or already dead. Even after you find Defender Morgan dead in Fairfax Ruins, she may reappear sometime later in the same situation.