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Stove fire caused $800,000 in damages at Trotwood apartments

Firefighters extinguish a fire that destroyed part of the Westbrooke Village apartment complex in Trotwood on Monday, Oct. 19.

Staff photo by Teesha McClam Firefighters extinguish a fire that destroyed part of the Westbrooke Village apartment complex in Trotwood on Monday, Oct. 19.

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By Doug Page, Staff Writer Updated 3:51 PM Wednesday, October 21, 2009

TROTWOOD — Fire investigators have determined the cause of a Monday blaze that destroyed a 24-unit apartment building was a stove fire.

Fire Chief Gene Lutz also set damages Wednesday, Oct. 21, at around $800,000. He said the fire started in a lower-level apartment while a man was cooking supper for two children.

The only reported injuries were a man who suffered minor burns to his hands.

“It appeared the fire had a head start on us before we got the 9-1-1 call,” Lutz said.

That call came in at 7:17 p.m. The first truck arrived at 7:23 at the Westbrooke Village Apartments, just northeast of the Salem Avenue-Olive Road intersection.

“The problem was the apartment door was left open. If it had been closed, we likely could have contained the damage to that apartment and, perhaps, the one above.”

The chief said the fire flamed out the door and up the walls of the common stairwell, searing through the stairwell ceiling and into the attic. Because the building was constructed in the late 1960s, early 1970s, it did not have fire walls or fire blocks in the walls and ceilings, Lutz said. Such safety features are now required by fire code.

The Red Cross is assisting those displaced with temporary housing. The apartment management company is helping residents find new apartments and collecting donations of clothes, furnishings and housewares for the burned-out residents.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2290 or dpage@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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