Fire destroys one house, heavily damages second

A fire destroyed a vacant house late Friday morning and heavily damaged a house next door.

The fire was reported around 11:30 a.m. at the corner of Marathon and Wheatley avenues.

Crews worked to extinguish a fire at a vacant house at the corner of Marathon and Wheatley avenues in Dayton on Friday, Dec.10, 2021. JIM NOELKER / STAFF

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Fire crews could see a plume of smoke before they arrived, said Dayton Fire Department District Chief Mike Fasnacht. Once on the scene, firefighters found heavy fire coming from the roof.

Firefighters searched the house and a neighboring house to make sure no one was inside. Due to the fire’s progress and structural issues, crews were removed from both houses, Fasnacht said.

Both houses were boarded up and vacant.

The first house is a total loss and the second has an estimated $10,000 in damage, the district chief said.

Dayton firefighters responded to a house fire at the intersection of Marathon and Wheatley avenues on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. JIM NOELKER / STAFF

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“There’s obviously a way into this building because this didn’t start on its own,” Fasnacht said. “We have arson investigators on scene currently to try to determine the cause or where the fire started.”

No injuries were reported.

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