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Apartment fire displaces residents, destroys roof

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By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 11:52 PM Monday, October 19, 2009

TROTWOOD — A fire Monday night, Oct. 19, that may have been caused by a man cooking food destroyed as many as 12 apartments in a complex, the roof of a building in the complex and left several residents without a place to live.

A man who was cooking in a basement apartment suffered minor burns to his hands, Trotwood Fire Chief Gene Lutz said.

He had two school-age children with him. Neither they, the other residents nor any of the firefighters were injured in the fire at the Westbrooke Village Apartments, 5533 Autumn Woods Drive, Lutz said.

No official cause has been determined, and no immediate estimate of damage was available, he said. There are several multi-story buildings in the complex.

Approximately half of the 24 units were lost in the building that burned, Lutz said, and the roof of the structure was burned away as well.

Representatives of the Red Cross were sent to the scene to assist those who were displaced, the exact number of which Lutz could not pinpoint.

One of the displaced residents was Anthony Wright, 49, who said he lost “everything I own.”

Wright said he had just come home from work when a neighbor alerted him to the fire. Wright said that on his way out of the building, he helped a woman who had just had a baby to escape from a second-floor apartment.

Firefighters from Clayton, Dayton, Englewood and Brookville assisted Trotwood in putting out the fire reported at 7:17 p.m. as a structure fire, Lutz said.

The quick moving flames that spread into the floors and walls was so intense it drove firefighters away from the structure at one point, Lutz said, noting that firefighters had to put down an estimated 400 feet of firehose to reach the nearest hydrant.

Once firefighters gained the upper hand, they used an aerial ladder truck to pour water on the building.

Stay with DaytonDailyNews.com for pictures from the scene.

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wake op people,something is wrong here, people lost their homes.Are you serious? so what about the roof, so what about the married man, the baby dint marry him and neither did the girlfriend, get a life and do something useful like collect money or clothes.some of you are showing your UNEDUCATED side. ever heard of being GOD LIKE?

H_E_L_L_O
2:17 PM, 10/20/2009

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You honestly really dont know anything because i live right across the street from where it happend plus my aunties apartment is destroyed because of water damage.So people who are talking stuff about people should really not talk at all because they lost everything plus i got it all on tape

DC
1:52 PM, 10/20/2009

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Glad nobody was injured. Must have been some angels around. :)

As for Concerned...are you kidding me? Find something better to do than meddle in something that is obviously not your business. "Concerned". Yeah right.

American Made
1:27 PM, 10/20/2009

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It is too bad for all the families involved. it is aalso sad that instead of focuing on the article, yet another small-brained blogger complains about something they probably have zero clue about. I feel sorry for Really, they go through life ignorant.

Always the case
9:25 AM, 10/20/2009

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I really feel for the families that lost homes. I know a married man lives there with his new girl friend they just had a baby. However that married man have not divorce his wife yet. I bet his wishes that he didn't cheat on his wife what goes around comes around.

concern
9:03 AM, 10/20/2009

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