It’s not clear what caused the fire at this time. Crews responding to the fire could see a large plume of heavy black smoke in the sky before they even arrived on scene, said Dayton fire District Chief Chris Kimzeler.
“It was well-progressed by the time we got the call and we were in route,” he said.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they confirmed everyone was out of the home before going inside to fight the flames.
Crews found heavy fire on the second floor that was already spread to the attic, Kimzeler said. At the same time, he was receiving reports from outside that there was flames on the other side of the attic and on the ground floor in the back of the house.
“We had multiple crews operating everywhere,” Kimzeler said. “We had competing priorities. This was a tough fire. The guys and girls worked their tails off.”
However, the fire already progressed too much and the house was a complete loss. Crews are doing a tactical burn and will let flames burn through the roof before putting it out with a final application of water.
“It’s tough to sit and watch a house burn knowing that it’s lived in, it’s somebody’s home, it’s somebody’s memories, it’s somebody’s life,” Kimzeler said.
It’s not clear if there were working smoke detectors in the home.
Crews were able to protect neighboring homes from catching fire.
Kimzeler also said residents did a great job of alerting firefighters to propane tanks on the back porch and in a nearby trailer, allowing crews to take extra precautions.
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