Woman rescued from Dayton fire in critical condition; no smoke detector in house

The woman did not have signs of significant burn injuries and her injuries were likely from the smoke, he said.

“It’s usually the smoke that gets them,” Kinzler said. “That’s why smoke detectors are critical.”

Firefighters did not find working smoke detectors in the house.

The fire was reported at 6:57 a.m. in the 1000 block of Charleston Boulevard, a few blocks south of James H. McGee and a few blocks east of Gettysburg.

A neighbor who called 911 said a woman was inside a house that was on fire, according to Montgomery County Regional Dispatch Center records.

“The house is burning,” the caller said. “It’s smoking really bad on the inside.”

When firefighters arrived, they found smoke venting out of a window on the left side. They began searching the house, and removed the woman from a front room. She received medical care on the scene until she was taken to a local hospital, Kinzler said.

Crews got the fire under control and searched the house a second time to confirm no one else was inside.

“We assume that somebody’s in any building that’s on fire — vacant or occupied,” Kinzler said. “We don’t take that for granted. We always check.”

There is smoke damage throughout the house, but the district chief said the structure is salvageable.

Curtis Glass, who called 911, said he’s friends with multiple people on the street, and when one of them knocked on his door they saw their neighbor’s house was on fire.

“I called 911 and told them what the location was and who the person was that was in there,” he said. “They got somebody out here right away.”

Glass said he tries to keep an eye out for his neighbor and help her out.

Kinzler said like many Dayton neighborhoods, this is a close-knit community, and added neighbors were very helpful to firefighters.

He also said the fire highlights the importance of having working smoke detectors.

The Dayton Fire Department will provide free smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to residents who need them. To request a smoke or carbon monoxide detector, email DFD-Prevention@daytonohio.gov or call 937-333-4500.