DAYTON

2 vacant house fires stretch Dayton crews thin

Firefighters - within an hour on Saturday - responded to two house fires, which stretched city fire crews thin early in the morning.

The first fire started around 2 a.m. in the 700 block of Mia Avenue. The home had heavy fire showing from the second floor, District Chief Barry Baldwin said.

Firefighters immediately went into a defensive fire fight due to the intensity of the flames, Baldwin said.

The initial reports from people in the area had firefighters concerned there may have been people inside.

“We had a report from the neighbor across the street that there were people that had possibly been staying in the structure,” Baldwin said. “We did a primary and secondary search of the structure and we found no victims inside the structure.”

A short time after the Mia Avenue fire, a second house fire was reported in the 800 block of Xenia Avenue. Heavy flames were also reported upon crews arrival on Xenia Avenue.

Crews quickly determined the Xenia Avenue home was vacant and no injuries were reported.

District Chief James Rose said vacant fires on the city’s east side have been a real problem lately, especially in the area of Saturday’s Xenia Avenue fire. Several fires have occurred in that area in the last 10 days.

“Arson such as this can be a felony and we have investigators investigating the case, and we will prosecute anybody,” Rose said. “Wherever the leads go we will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”

Both homes were destroyed by the fires. BREAKING NEWS STAFF

MORAINE

Family of 4 escapes burning home

The American Red Cross will assist a family of four after their home caught on fire Saturday morning around 9:40 a.m.

The Dayton Fire Department assisted Moraine crews in battling the fire at 4613 Miami Shores Drive, near Shadyview Road. Fire crews reported this was a working structure fire with heavy smoke coming from the attic.

Two adults and two children were able to escape uninjured. A pet ferret was rescued by fire crews.

The fire was knocked down by 9:48 a.m., and pronounced out at 10:11 a.m.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. BREAKING NEWS STAFF

BEAVERCREEK

7th bottle bomb case has police asking for help

Police are handling their seventh bottle bomb case since Dec. 13 and now officers are asking for tips from the public that may lead them to whoever is responsible.

Officers responded to the Oakbrook Chase Estates in the 2400 block of Oakbrook Boulevard early Saturday morning after neighbors complained that they heard loud explosions or gunshots in the area, Beavercreek Sgt. Shawn Sumner said.

When authorities arrived in the area they discovered five bottle bombs, three of which had already exploded, Sumner said. The Dayton Bomb Squad was called to dispose of the devices that had not exploded.

No one was injured and no property damage was reported.

Police don’t have any suspects in Saturday’s case, but they do believe all of the cases since mid-December could be related, Sumner said.

If anyone sees a pop bottle bomb in their area, they are urged to leave the device alone, Sumner said. Anyone with information regarding the string of incidents is asked to contact Beavercreek Police. BREAKING NEWS STAFF

GREENVILLE

The woman found dead of an apparent gunshot wound Thursday in the rest room of a Sunoco gas station was a 58-year-old Ansonia resident.

Foul play is not suspected in the death of Carol Kramer, according to the Greenville Police Department.

The Darke County Coroner’s Office was not ready to release a preliminary ruling on Kramer’s cause of death, police Detective Eric Kiryluk said Friday afternoon.

“We know why she was there,” he said of the woman, who was not married. “We aren’t going to disclose that.”

Police were dispatched to the business in the 800 block of Martin Street on a report of a shooting.

Business owner Kasey Obed said a female walked in and asked to use the restroom. A couple of minutes later, the cashier heard a noise and found the woman in the rest room dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. BREAKING NEWS STAFF

DAYTON

Bar cited for selling alcohol illegally

Police executed a search warrant late Friday night at an illegal after hours bar on Hoover Avenue, according to Dayton Lt. Donald Burden.

Officers raided the bar in the 4900 block of Hoover around 10:30 p.m. and discovered the location was selling alcohol without a license, Burden said.

Burden said the raid was prompted after some recent violent crimes were reported at the location. According to Burden, police had prior calls of a severe beating and shots fired.

The 20 people inside the bar were detained, but so far no arrests have been made in the case, according to Burden. BREAKING NEWS STAFF