Crews order emergency demolition after fire destroys Dayton house

Heavy smoke was pouring from a house where flames broke through the roof Wednesday afternoon in Dayton.

Firefighters had to remove boards from the front door after they were called around 2:40 p.m. to the fire in the vacant brick house in the 100 block of Lorenz Avenue off West Third Street, said District Chief Andrew Wiley of the Dayton Fire Department.

Crews searched the first floor but were unable to go upstairs due to the heavy fire and smoke conditions on the second floor.

They had to pull out and then it became a defensive fire with crews trying to protect the homes next to it, Wiley said.

“Once it went through the roof, we were able to use our ladder trucks and put it out,” he said.

The house is a total loss.

“We requested an emergency demo so they’re going to come out here and tear it down,” Wiley said.

This did not make the homeowners happy, as they said they had plans to fix it up.

People had trespassed before and the owners had to board it up again, but no one reported seeing anything before the fire broke out, the district chief said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Credit: Jim Noelker

Credit: Jim Noelker

About the Author